Assembling the Pieces
by The Wolf Who Walks Alone
Summary: The Sequel to 'The Missing Piece! You don't have to read the first story to get this one. There's drama, romance, betrayal & confusion, Who will be the leader? Everyone in the Flock has a new destiny, will they accept or fight it? FAX! COMPLETE!
1. Recap

**Ta-da! Here is the first, brand new chapter of the sequel to "The Missing Piece"! You new people, if you didn't read it, it's ok, because all will be explained, but if you want more detail, you should check it out sometime! Anyways, I can promise to update at least once a week. School's been a nightmare. **

**Disclaimer: Ok, I don't own the Maximum Ride series. At all. I just own the OC's.**

**Chapter 1: one year later…**

**Max POV**

I was flying, flying through the bright blue sky, with the wind in my face and the sun on my back. I was thousands of feet above ground and freer than a bird. Ha, the irony.

No, I'm not dreaming, me flying through the sky is very, very real. All too real, sometimes. My fourteen foot wingspan spread through the clouds as I glided. Flying is amazing, but not as much fun if you're alone.

Thank God that I'm not the only human-Avian hybrid on earth; otherwise I would've died a long time ago.

True, there aren't many flying kids in existence, but I happen to know a few of them, and am glad to call them my family.

Over the span of a year, my family, or Flock, has grown considerably. There's Courage, Gazzy's almost-girlfriend. Courage and Gazzy were two ten year olds who had a strange relationship. They act like two best friends, but I'm not stupid and can see that they will be more than friends in time.

Then there's Talon, who is Nudge's boyfriend. These two started dating about a month after he joined the Flock. Talon has light brown hair, with green eyes. Oh, and he has a British accent, since he's the world's first British bird kid. So far, He's proved that he's not a traitor, but with my screwed up life, I can never know.

Finally, there's Ella, my half-sister. Ella and I share the same mom, but that was the end of the similarities. Well, until a year ago, when she was attacked by an evil scientist named Brigid and given wings like the rest of us.

I don't even know how that's possible, because us normal mutants, (Ha, you get it? 'Normal' and 'Mutant' are two opposites! Oh, never mind.) have to be fused with Avian DNA before birth. Things get stranger and stranger in my life, but it's really a miracle that Ella survived, because those demented whitecoats hardly know what they're doing.

Anyways, Ella is dating Iggy. Nudge used to like Iggy, but ever since Ella and Iggy got together and Talon came along, it seems that the only relationship between Nudge and Iggy is of the brotherly sisterly sort.

So it seems that everyone has a so called, 'perfect-match' in the Flock, except for the youngest, Angel.

Angel, who used to be my baby, my sweet, innocent little six year old, is now a power hungry, solitary, and just plain creepy eight year old. Her blue eyes used to be light, and full of happiness, well, when they weren't full of fear. Now they are as cold and dark as an operating table at the School.

I shivered at the memory of the cold steel table where I was strapped to so many times in my early childhood. Goosebumps rose to my skin at the thought of that horrible place.

Then, all of those thoughts melted away as a warm, strong hand took hold of my hand.

Fang was silent, dark, and appeared out of nowhere. Literally, now. He just loves to use his new power of completely disappearing. He used to just fade into the background, but now, there's one second and he's gone.

I look up above me to see him flying silently, his emotionless, onyx irises boring into mine.

My heart involuntarily fluttered as I gazed at that face that I loved so much.

Yes, I Maximum Ride, am in love. Hard to believe that miss un-girly herself fell in love. Well, yeah, if you want some of the details to prove it, then read 'The Missing Piece'.

Fang wasn't big on talking, or emotions, but it was kind of redundant anyways. He knew me and I knew him like I knew myself, and sometimes it was like we could almost read the other person's mind.

He and I flew and watched the other members of the Flock enjoy their freedom.

Gazzy was teaching Courage a complicated, triple loop-de-loop corkscrew in the air and Courage attempted it. However, she faltered in a wing beat and began to plummet.

Me, being the wonderful caring leader that I am, wasn't worried and watched with mild interest. I already knew what was going to happen next. I was right.

Gazzy tucked his wings in and dived after her. He was a shooting blur, and then caught her by the hands, helping her regain her balance and wing beats again. As usual, he held her hands a little bit longer than necessary. Her long black hair whipped around in the wind of the high altitude and her green eyes shimmered with silent thanks.

She then rapidly pulled her hands away as if he shocked her. Gazzy smiled timidly, and then Courage bumped him with one of her honey and cream colored wings and smiled back. Gazzy bumped her back with his gray and white wings and they flew off in a game of aerial tag, their moment together forgotten, for the moment anyways.

"It looks like we have another mutant pair on our hands." Fang said in a low voice. I didn't really like the thought of the Gasman growing up and getting a girlfriend. I remembered him as a tiny, tough little toddler. He can't go growing up and falling in love.

"They grow up fast." I agreed, not letting my voice crack. I definitely considered the Flock my own kids, and seeing them growing up was hard. Not to mention that I felt really old, like middle age. I was only sixteen and felt like someone in their mid to late forties. That was just another example of how messed up the life of a bird kid was.

I mean, I noticed changes in all of us over the past year. Iggy was a whopping six feet and four inches at sixteen years old. His strawberry blond hair was getting shaggier and his blue eyes were no longer clouded over. He could see. His sight was just a by-product of expiring and being re-booted. Again, if you want all of the heartfelt details, please read 'The Missing Piece'. He was flying below Ella's wings, which had a hundred shades of brown, and were speckled with white. They were having a nonchalant conversation.

Nudge was chatting away to Talon who was listening to her every word, and commenting every now and again.

Angel, however, was the only one without company. She trailed behind the group, alone, scowling slightly like she usually did.

I sighed, because I really felt bad for her.

I mean, Angel was all alone. She could read minds and could feel how happy everybody was. She knew that three was a crowd and everyone was already paired up. Even Total, her dog, was married to Akilla and living with my mom in Arizona. Heck, he was busy with his latest litter of puppies.

My mom had sent us pictures of Total and Akilla's puppies and even I admit, they were kind of cute. My mom said that the puppies had yet to start talking, and I was hoping that the only words that those puppies ever speak were in doganeese, because one talking dog was more than enough.

I sighed and tried not to look homesick, if that's even possible, since I've never been in one place longer than a month, well, besides the School and when Fang, Iggy, Gazzy, Nudge, Angel and I lived in a secluded house in the mountains with Jeb. That is, until he stabbed us in the back by returning to the cesspool of evil known as the School.

Anyways, I haven't seen my mom in a year. My awesome mom, who I had just found and I couldn't see her. All because of that stupid DVD that Jeb gave me the day that Fang and I broke out of the School. For the last time, if you want details, please read 'The Missing Piece'!

On that DVD, were things that made me see the world completely different, and made the School look more evil, heartless and just plain sick and twisted. They couldn't control my destiny like that. Not anymore. I made my own decisions and won't jump through hoops just to satisfy their disgusting 'scientific' desires.

Ok, I don't think that I've ever told you what was on that DVD. Well, here it goes.

_*Flashback*_

_As soon as the Flock and I got home, the kids went to eat. Hey, we're bird kids; we eat a lot, so get used to it. Fang and I, however, snuck off into my mom's home office and to the desk where Fang's old, untraceable laptop was charging. We popped the DVD into the slot, and watched the screen._

_Jeb's face popped onto the screen._

"_First of all, Maximum, err, Max, I just want to apologize. I've always believed that by being with the School, I was helping you. But now that I've discovered their new plans, I know that they have no good intentions. After I saw the pleasure that they took in your emotional pain, I knew that I had to put an end to it. First, I will tell you their plan. After that, there are some video clips that I'd like you to see." _

_Jeb smiled unexpectedly._

"_I'm sure that you will appreciate them. The Director intends to test the reproductive capabilities of a recombinant DNA experiment. Particularly, a human-Avian hybrid." Jeb grimaced._

_I felt my stomach churn. I really felt sick, like I was going to barf. The whitecoats wanted me to have a freaking _baby_! At the time, I was only fifteen! I wasn't prepared to have a baby! I wouldn't! That is just so sickeningly too far for words._

_Jeb's voice continued, this time faster and more urgent, as if he was running out of time._

"_Maximum, this is the climax of the whitecoats plans that they've hidden from me for years. They want to see if you can save the world, yes but they don't know if you would survive the process. So they also want to see if a child of yours is also capable of saving the world. You would also be the first recombinant experiment to reproduce, and they find that very intriguing." Jeb continued._

_Those sick twisted…I couldn't even think strait. I was shaking with anger. Suddenly, Fang put his arm around me, comforting me. I pulled him closer, but not without peeking over to see his reaction to this… monstrosity._

_His face was pale, and his lips were tight with anger. His eyes were noticeably colder._

_He and I were snugly together. We continued watching this horror movie._

"_I find this repulsive. Yes, Max I've pushed you hard. I've made you do things that you didn't want to do. This, however is extremely too far and unnecessary. What I made you do was for your own good, but this is just for their curiosity and would be devastating to the Flock and you." Again, Jeb allowed a tight smile._

"_I understand, you and Fang will eventually want children, but not now. The Flock isn't ready, the world still needs saving, and _you _aren't ready. You are simply too young and I, unlike the Director, believe that you are a person, a person who matters, and that is why you are so great. I know that this is surprising, but you Max, were not only created to save the world, but to be the mother of a new species. Fang, you may believe that you aren't important, not created for a greater purpose and it is just by chance that you and Max have formed a relationship. But that was planned all along. You, Fang, were designed to be the father of a new species, a new generation of Avian-humans." Jeb said._

_At this point, my jaw was at the floor and I heard Fang swallow. This was a lot to take in. We'd always believed that the whitecoats had never cared if got together. _

_We thought that love was not intended. But now knowing that I was created, that I was designed to have children? I thought that I had a greater purpose to be something other than a housewife. What the whitecoats had planned for me was worse than that, they wanted me to be like a freaking show-dog, to breed and give all my offspring 'purebred' genes! _

"_Max the rest of the Flock was given a…mate as well. The Director has the same thing planned for them as they do for you, but you are of greater importance. If you wish to escape this fate, run. I know that I've always trained you to fight, but you have to run Max .Leave and never return to the same place. Destroy Schools and the branches of Itex, because only then will you be safe. Don't underestimate the Director; she has horrible, but effective ways to get what she wants." Jeb said at last._

"_One more thing, beware of Angel." Jeb finished, and then the screen went dark. There wasn't another segment like Jeb said that there was going to be. Maybe he forgot, or that it just wasn't working. Never mind that, Max stared at Fang with a sad, but determined expression._

_Jeb didn't appear to be lying; he risked his life as it was just to give Max the disk, so why would he lie about it? No, this was the School's real plans, and they had to run. If they were going to save the flock's freedom then we would once again, become fugitives._

_*end Flashback*_

Yep, after a year, we are still on the run. We've cleared out Schools and Itex branches in the rest of Europe, Russia, China, and the rest of Asia. Sorry, I'm horrible at Geography.

We were still together, we were still free.

If only I knew how short lived or freedom really was.

**Yeah, so that's the first chapter. Please, please review! Please, Please! I'm here begging you to review! Any questions or comments are greatly appreciated! I worked hard on this, and hope that you enjoy it! Sorry for the tardiness. **


	2. Explosions

**Hey guys. I apologize for not updating, but I really had no choice. I have absolutely ZERO time to do ANYTHING fun! Whatever, I've been working on the chapter, little pieces at a time. I tried, so forgive me!**

**Disclaimer: Seriously? If I owned Max Ride, I would have made ANGEL come out months ago! Speaking of which, whoever hasn't read the first 28 chapters, feel free to by using the link at the top of my profile page! :D**

**Fang POV**

Max and I watched the rest of the Flock…well, like hawks.

At least twice a week, we were attacked by Erasers. Yes, folks, the Erasers were back and better than ever. Remember how stupid the Erasers from like, forever ago were? Well, these Erasers are much smarter, faster, and stronger than the first couple of versions were. Don't ask me why the School stopped using the retard-bots and started using real flesh and blood recombinant henchmen again. I'm just as confused as you are.

It also doesn't help that these super Erasers are attacking because of me. Like Max, I have a tracking chip implanted in me…somewhere. I just hope that the whitecoats put the chip somewhere decent. Unlike Max however, her chip is gone, probably in a dump somewhere; my chip is still inside me.

I've told Max pretty much a hundred times to let me go to her mom's house and get the chip taken out. Of course, being the stubborn leader that she is, she won't hear it. According to her, it's too dangerous to return to a place where we already were, especially her own mother's house. We would be putting not only the Flock in danger, but her mom and Ella would also be put at risk.

Plus, the surgery could go wrong and I'd die. I've argued over and over again that if worse came to worse and I died, then at least she and the Flock would be safe. Her mom would understand. Again, she's just too stubborn. Sometimes, she's such a pain.

Tonight, I'm going to tell her that I'm leaving to get the stupid thing out, with or without her consent. Yeah, she's the leader, but she's left me with no choice. When the leader starts making bad decisions because of her emotions getting in the way, then it's time to butt in.

My silent musings are interrupted by Max barking orders out to the Flock.

"Everybody, get in battle formation! Gazzy, Iggy, Courage, get those bombs out, and yes, I know that you have them! Everybody else, get ready! Angel, tell me who and what those things are!" Max shouted as she gestured to two objects approaching with smooth precision.

Angel's expression darkened, if that's possible. She glared at Max, her blue eyes as cold as Antarctica, and I can tell you that from experience.

"I'm not your stupid sidekick, Max. I'm just as important as you are, if not more. _I_ won't take orders from _you_." Angel growled.

I swear, I wouldn't have been surprised to see little devil horns appear through her curly, golden blond hair. She went from scary little eight year old, to downright freaky. Her glare snapped in my direction.

Whoops, I forgot that she could read minds.

Her cold glower intensified as her head whipped back in Max's direction. I flew closer to Max, in case violence broke out.

"Angel, as long as you travel with us, you are part of _my_ Flock. That means that you go by _my_ rules, do what _I_ tell you, _when I tell you to do it_!" Max snarled back, making Angel look wimpy in comparison.

Angel stared at Max coldly, as if she was the reason that we were constantly running away. Max immediately turned her attention away from Angel and to the rest of the Flock.

Iggy had his bombs, Ella had her fists balled up ready to knock someone's lights out. We'd taught her a few moves over the past year. Iggy's eyes stared at the approaching UFTs. Yes, he can see now. That's one of the only useful things that the School has done. Well, since they made him loose his sight in the first place, it doesn't count.

Talon and Nudge had instant bloodlust in their eyes, Talon looking as if he would rip anything that came close to Nudge to shreds with his retractable talons. Hence, the name.

Gazzy and Courage had an angry/mischievous glint in their eyes. I could only wonder what bombs that they had literally, up their sleeves. Courage was almost as good at building bombs as Gazzy was; close, but not quite. He was still teaching her. Courage, sadly, couldn't use her skill to control fire up here in the high altitude, where the air was too damp and thin.

Those newbies out there, I bet you're wondering where the wonderful Dylan is? Well, he was a traitor. In fact, he was the son of the Director herself. Figures. Read all about it in the last story.

My attention flashed back over to Max when she had a sudden, pained expression on her face. She winced and massaged her temples. She was really trying to hide it, but something was very wrong.

I mean, something was wrong besides the fact that the unidentified flying things, or UFTs, were much, much closer. They'd be right on us in a minute or two. I could make a really long list of things that were wrong with our lives, but now isn't really the time.

I glided out of formation, and swooped closer to Max. I reached down, and gently massaged her neck. I felt her muscles tense, and then relax. She smiled warily at me. I almost grinned back.

Then, a weird thought popped into my head. What if the instant pain was Angel's fault? She could send thoughts and control people's minds, dear God, please don't make her able to send pain to people too.

Maybe I was paranoid, but I've been watching Angel closely ever since 'The Angel Issue' cropped up, thanks to Jeb's DVD.

Jeb's DVD was just even more, unneeded proof that our (the Flock's) lives were so screwed up. Our genes are twisted with 2% Avian DNA, but someone did that to _all_ of us, planning our lives for us.

Not to mention that 'those plans' happen to be that we would have our own kids at fourteen, fifteen, and even younger ages. That's some serious, psychotic, sick, twisted stuff.

Max and I being the focus for that so called 'purpose' is enough to make anyone sick. I try not to think about it, especially after eating.

Not that I don't love Max or want kids, but not now. They'd have a horrible life, always running, being afraid, and maybe even being captured and stuffed into dog crates to be part of thousands of horrible experiments.

I don't want anyone to have the life that I do, especially Max's and my kids.

Max is the only thing that makes this crazy life worthwhile. I look over at her, and she has a faraway look on her face, as if she's looking thousands of miles into the distance. Her light brown and white wings were moving in synch with mine. I gently nudged her with the tip of one of my left wing, just to knock her off balance, like we did a hundred times when we were kids.

She gave a startled, panicked look, and her eyes darted around. When she saw that it was me and not an attacker she smiled up at me and I couldn't help but give her a halfway smile back.

The all-to-familiar sound of bullets whizzing through the air broke us out of the moment.

"Scatter and drop! These things aren't friendly, so give them everything that we've got!" Max ordered as she swooped out of firing range.

"They're obviously not friendly, that's why they're _shooting_ at us." I mumbled, as I dropped down next to Max. She shot me the bird and I smirked. Iggy threw some kind of bomb into the air and covered Ella with his gray and white wings, kind of like a feathery, bomb shelter.

Gazzy glided in front of Courage and Talon yelled "TAKE COVER" as he and Nudge darted fifty feet away. I wasn't prepared. I could only watch as the bomb flashed a brilliant shade of orange… right as Max flew by.

**I'd probably get yelled at for stopping here, so, I won't in hopes that at least a few of you will review.**

"MAX" I bellowed as I zoomed towards her. The air was then filled with a thick, black smoke for about a mile radius. I searched around wildly, but couldn't see a dang thing in that stupid smoke. I coughed a couple of times, but wouldn't give up without Max.

I heard the planes stop shooting, but wasn't worried about that at the moment.

"MAX!" I shouted. Suddenly, I was rammed into by something. That 'something' happened to be Max. She started shouting at me, asking why I was so stupid for staying in the same spot for so long, when I grabbed her and hugged her, probably squishing her.

"What's your problem? We're in the middle of a freaking fight in case you haven't noticed!" Max ranted. I let her go. My 'problem' was that I thought that she was dead.

She must've finally figured that out, because she stopped yelling.

"That was a smoke-bomb, moron. It was to confuse the pilots. Apparently, it confused you too." She said, her voice growing softer at that last part. Unexpectedly, she kissed me, in the middle of all that smoke, and in the middle of an aerial battle.

"Guys, this isn't really the time!" Iggy said as he glided by us, and then disappeared into the smoke.

"He's right, let's go." Max said. I nodded.

"ANGEL!" Gazzy shouted from the southeast of us.

"What?" Angel screamed back.

"Can't you, like, tell the pilots to crash themselves into the ground or something?" Gazzy hollered back, now from somewhere above us.

"I've already tried that! They're all machines! No Pilots! It's remote controlled or on auto-pilot or something!" Angel yelled.

Auto-pilot. What, now we weren't important enough for real pilots?

"You just can't find good suicide pilots like you used to." I said to Max. She smirked.

"Gazzy, Iggy, Courage, give them everything that you've got!" Max said. I heard Iggy whoop in delight. Gazzy cackled maniacally. There weren't any people in the planes, so we were free to trash them, without worrying about killing anyone.

"We'd better get out of here before we get turned into charred bird-kid chunks." Max said. I nodded and we tucked our wings in. We dived fifty, a hundred, two hundred and fifty feet. We finally broke free of all the smoke and not far behind us were Ella, Nudge, Talon, and Angel. Courage was up helping Gazzy and Iggy with the fun job of blowing a multi-million dollar, remote control, plane of death.

The rest of the Flock dived down to the distant ground. We were in the middle of a swamp, somewhere. Max and I looked up to see the sky light up a bright shade of red and yellow as the planes blew up. I think I heard Max muttering a prayer.

I just hoped that Gazzy, Courage and Iggy didn't finally blow themselves up. Three small objects were gliding in celebratory loops, so I knew that they were fine. Max and the rest of the Flock stopped descending and waited for Courage, Gazzy, and Iggy to catch up.

Sure enough, three grinning bird kids dropped down to us.

"And that bright orange flare, oh man, did you see it?" said Courage excitedly. Gazzy nodded enthusiastically and Iggy grinned, his blue eyes sparkling with delight.

"Oh man, it was awesome! If only I saw that chopper blow up when Gazzy and I escaped from the house in the mountains when the rest of the Flock left to find Angel!" said Iggy wistfully.

Ella, who was worried sick shot over to Iggy and hugged him. He dropped a few feet, not expecting it. He grinned and chuckled as he returned her embrace. Their wings were moving in synch. They must have learned that from Max and me.

Gazzy slapped a high five with Courage. He then looked puzzled for a second.

"What's wrong, Gaz?" Courage said, her smile fading.

"I…I…" Gazzy stuttered. He looked at his midsection, and Nudge automatically shrieked. Max gasped and Courage screamed. Angel was already crying, and it was really hard to make any of us cry.

Oh, no. If she could read minds what if… The thought was left unfinished, because at that moment, Gazzy's wings gave one last little flap and he dropped like a rock.

"GAZZY!" Courage screeched as she dove after him. Gazzy… I couldn't believe it. That stupid bomb had actually gotten him. There was a large bloody spot growing larger by the minute on his light blue shirt. Gazzy was hit by his own bomb.

The rest of us dived after him, not knowing if Gazzy would survive long enough to smash against the ground.

**CLIFFY! Yeah, I know. PLEASE REVIEW! Please, please, PLEASE, review and I really, really will update on Monday, no joke. ALL REVIEWS ACCEPTED!**


	3. Healing

**Hey! I was so happy with all of the amazing reviews, that I'm updating an early with an extra chapter! I'll still be updating before the weekend though. Sorry, school's just been too busy for my liking. **

**Disclaimer: If I owned Maximum Ride, I wouldn't have to be sitting here, typing, and then posting this on fanfiction. It would be in the next book!**

_Previously…_

"_GAZZY!" Courage screeched as she dove after him. Gazzy… I couldn't believe it. That stupid bomb had actually gotten him. There was a large bloody spot growing larger by the minute on his light blue shirt. Gazzy was hit by his own bomb._

_The rest of us dived after him, not knowing if Gazzy would survive long enough to smash against the ground._

**Max POV**

I shot down after Gazzy's falling, limp figure, unable to process any coherent thought other than,

_Oh, God, Gazzy, my little trooper. He has to be okay. He just has to be._

The cold air rushing past me stung my eyes and made them water, but I wasn't focused on that. Two hundred feet above ground and Gazzy was only about five feet from my open arms when a feathery, honey and cream colored blur whistled past me.

Courage.

She stopped in mid-air, another trick that Gazzy had taught her, and she scooped Up Gazzy's motionless body. She tried to fly to a clearing about forty feet to the right of us when she started to loose altitude. Gazzy was bigger than she was and even though that Gazzy probably weighed about seventy-five pounds at most, he stilled weighed more than Courage did.

Extra weight was a serious liability in the air. Yes, we're very strong, and Courage had carried Gazzy for half of a mile once before, but Gazzy had grown considerably since then. His weight was just too much for her, and they went spiraling down through the canopy of green trees.

"Courage! Gazzy!" I yelled as I shot into the forest after them.

Sticks, thistles, sharp, thorny branches, and thick tree limbs hit me with full force, but pain was just a message, so I ignored it.

I heard Courage and Gazzy falling through the thick foliage about a few yards in front of me, but I couldn't see them. I was bound to hit the ground any time now, and I didn't want to end up as a grease spot, so I back pedaled, or at least tried to.

Attempting to expand my wings was a big mistake, because the branches tore at them and relentlessly pulled at them. There was a sickening pop, and my left wing burned like it was being smothered in molten lava. I suppressed a shriek by biting my lip, which only made my lip start gushing warm, metallic tasting blood.

I was completely suspended in the forest, my wing caught between two close, thick branches. I could see the ground now, which made me want to get out of that tree with even more.

I saw Courage and Gazzy, lying unmoving on the forest floor. Courage was curled around Gazzy, with her wings wrapped around him. She had taken the blow from the fall, and protected Gazzy from further damage.

My enhanced raptor-vision only made the image more detailed. Here was a trickle of blood coming from Courage's mouth. Countless amounts of cuts, scratches and swollen places where bruises were sure to form covered every visible part of Courage's skin. A bone in her wing was at a sickening, unnatural angle and there were many places where feathers were torn out. It even appeared that a few twigs had actually even impaled themselves through her wings.

Gazzy didn't have a single scratch or bruise on his entire body, but there was a pool of blood around his midsection. His blood stained Courage's light tinted feathers.

I squirmed furiously, desperate to get down there to them. They were like my kids. I had to get to them _right then_.

The moving only jostled the wing that was hopelessly wedged between the two branches and a new wave of scalding pain shot down from my wing. I shrieked before I could clamp my mouth shut.

Great, now the Flock would think that I'm a big weenie and squeals just because I'm stuck in a tree.

"Max!" I heard Fang shout from somewhere above me. "Where are you?"

"I'm here," I replied faintly, the pain sapping away my strength. I had to be strong. The Flock needed a cool, composed, tough leader and _I_ was that leader. I didn't need someone to get me down from a tree. How cliché is that?

Okay, it hurt to move that wing. Maybe I could get enough power from one wing to loosen the tree's hold on my other wing.

I'd work out the whole 'landing' issue when I came to it.

I flapped my right wing in long, quick, powerful strokes. I only rose a little, and then the horrible pain from my wing came back. I immediately stopped flapping my wing. Stupid move. I dropped, violently jerking my injured wing. This time, I really did squeal.

"Max!" Fang yelled, his deep voice ringing through the quiet forest. Out of nowhere, he appeared on the ground. He quickly analyzed the situation of Courage and Gazzy, then of me. He stood there, his eyes darting to and from my hopelessly stuck, hanging form and then at Courage and Gazzy's still bodies.

"Help them Fang! Gazzy's about to die! Not me, them! Help them!" I shouted with as much force as I could muster. Fang nodded, his face emotionless. Even with the distance between us, I knew that he really wanted to help me first. He understood that the Flock came first. I would do the same thing in his position.

He rushed over to Gazzy and Courage, untangling their intertwined limbs.

"Courage is fine, a few broken bones, she's just unconscious. Gazzy's breathing but barely." Fang said, his voice tight. I barely nodded.

Fang tore off the hem of his black t-shirt and pressed it against Gazzy's wound. Courage stirred, and her eyes slowly flickered open. Her green eyes opened wide, like two emerald dinner plates when she saw the blood that covered the ground and her clothes.

"Gazzy!" she said in a desperate tone as she jumped up and bolted over to Gazzy.

"Oh Gazzy," Courage said, her voice quivering. "You're gonna be okay."

Then, there was Iggy, Ella, Nudge, Talon, and even Angel's voices calling our names.

"We're over here!" Fang called. Not ten seconds later, the rest of the Flock was kneeled down next to Courage.

"You keep pressure on that, I'm going to get Max." Fang said as he transferred his job over to Iggy.

"Where's Max at?" asked Nudge. Ella nodded. Fang turned away, not immediately answering as his great black wings spread out and he soundlessly rose up next to me.

At this point, my vision was getting less and less stable and darkness kept hazing in and out.

_I am NOT going to pass out. I won't!_

I thought fiercely, giving myself an internal pep talk. I saw Fang wince when he realized how much pain I was in. At least someone noticed me. I was beginning to think that I was going to hang in this tree like a mutant bird-kid Christmas-tree ornament forever.

Fang wrapped his strong arms around me, and I was grateful to get the tension off my wing. I bit my lip, ready for Fang to pull it free.

Fang gently lifted my wing up and out of the wooden crevice, but not without causing searing pain on my part. It had to be done.

Right now, there was nothing that I wanted more than to sleep, preferably next to Fang and let the pain of my injury slip away, but I was the tough leader. I had to stay awake.

I fought the drowsiness and as soon as Fang landed, I tried to run off over to Gazzy and Courage, but the burning pain in my wing caused me to fall to my knees.

"Max!" said Fang, and in an instant he was at my side.

"Your wing is dislocated. I'm gonna have to pop it back into place." Fang said. I clamped my mouth shut, and nodded gave him a thumbs up. I just wanted to get it over with.

There was another loud pop, a blinding pain, then a numbing feeling lingering where my left wing was.

I abruptly stood up and rushed over to Gazzy, with Fang close behind me.

The cloth that Iggy was using to stop the blood was soaked with it. It brought back painful flashbacks of Fang on the beach after Ari had raked him with his claws. There was no hospital, not to mention, people for many miles around. We were in the middle of nowhere and a couple Band-Aids and a few yards of gauze weren't going to cut it. What Gazzy needed was a miracle, and I didn't have any of those in the first aid kit.

Suddenly, there was a blinding, white out pain from my stomach. It felt like someone was either roasting or frying my internal organs.

If you think that's weird, get this; the Voice finally decides to make an appearance.

**Max,** it said in its mysterious, cheery tone.** Put your hand on Gazzy's injury. **

I was totally freaked out and felt like I was going to be sick, but I didn't have anything to loose, so I put my hands on Gazzy.

Suddenly, the heat rushed down my arms lie they were the little nozzles on a watering can, pouring out the burning sensation. The Flock gasped and muttered unintelligible sentences. My vision blurred and I on one last look at Gazzy before I fell over and into darkness. His wound, or where his wound used to be, was completely healed. I had healed him.

**Congratulations, Max.** The Voice said in its annoying chipper tone. **You have a new skill. You can heal yourself, and other people.**

**Well, there you have it. I tried to make it interesting, and I'm sorry for the lack of Fax, but I'll put more into it in the next chapter. If I get some reviews, I'll definitely put some extra Fax in there! I'l try and update as soon as possible, but if I get a bunch of reviews, I'll be sure to update faster! So please, review. REVIEW.**

**R**

**E**

**V**

**I**

**E**

**W**

**!**


	4. Burden

**Hi again! Thank you all so, so much for taking the time to read and review! I really appreciate it! My life has been too busy for my liking, but I managed to update! *applause* Well, enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I just finished reading Fang…again. I wouldn't be ticked if I had written FANG! There WOULD NOT have been a 'second epilogue'! I mean, seriously, JP, who does that?**

_Previously…_

_The Flock gasped and muttered unintelligible sentences. My vision blurred and I on one last look at Gazzy before I fell over and into darkness. His wound, or where his wound used to be, was completely healed. I had healed him._

_**Congratulations, Max.**__ The Voice said in its annoying chipper tone. __**You have a new skill. You can heal yourself, and other people.**_

**Fang POV**

When Max's beautiful brown eyes fluttered shut, I knew that she was about to pass out. Call it bird-kid telepathy. Nah, it's just experience.

In the blink of an eye, I was behind Max, and I caught her. Then, I realized why she had passed out. She had _healed _Gazzy. Now _that_ was a useful skill.

I wish that I was more useful to the Flock, heck; I wish I was more useful to Max. The rest of the Flock at least partially contributes something useful to the Flock.

Iggy is an amazing cook. Gazzy and Courage are the little bomb builders, which is very useful with the lives that we lead. Ella is good with checking the inventory; she always knows exactly what we need stuff-wise. Granted, we don't have many possessions, but I'm not complaining.

Talon is a really good listener, and is really useful when dealing with another twenty-four hour appearance of the Nudge Channel. Plus, he won't tell anyone what you tell him.

Nudge is good at keeping the mood light, and friendly, even in the most depressing circumstances. And Angel… well, her mind reading and mind-controlling abilities have saved our hides many times.

Don't even get me started on Max. She takes care of the Flock, comforts them, protects them, loves them, sacrifices everything for them, and would die in a heartbeat for them. She's the greatest leader that I'll ever see.

Me, I'm quiet, and sure, I've been called the Flock's best fighter. I mean, besides Max. I'm not an amazing chef, or an organizer, and God forbid, a bomb builder. I'm not a great listener to anyone except Max, and the last time I checked, I couldn't read or control people's minds. Oh, but I can turn invisible. Nice trick, if I just want to hide from danger like a wimpy coward and watch the Flock fight without me.

I'm just Max's boyfriend.

With a chip implanted inside myself that is keeping us on the run and could very all be the death of all of us. Yeah, Fang, great contribution to the team.

I feel like a traitor, because I'm always leading the enemy towards us. Every breath that I breathe, the Director of Evil (or DOE) knows about it.

I gazed at Max's peaceful, unconscious face and made a firm decision that when she wakes up, I will tell her that I'm leaving to get that chip taken out.

Those planes coming to get us were because of my chip, and Gazzy almost died because of it. Max dislocated her wing because of that.

It's beyond her control now.

The rest of the Flock was setting up camp, but obviously thinking about the day's events. Gazzy was laying down on one of our few blankets, but he deserved it. As I walked by, he did something unexpected, but I didn't blame him one bit for doing it.

He glared at me coldly. Man, his eyes looked exactly like his sisters when he was angry.

He knew good and well that I had a chip, and that the planes were my fault, and in reality, it was my fault that he almost got killed.

With Max in my arms, I walked past, not revealing any trace of emotion. At the outer edge of the camp, I snatched the last blanket and made a small pillow out of leaves. I then laid Max gently on the crude bed.

She was quietly breathing; her chest moving up and down evenly with each breath. Her naturally pink lips were slightly parted. Her blond-streaked brown hair was framing her face like a halo. The caramel, late evening light made her skin shine in a golden tan shade. Her eyes were darting restlessly beneath her eyelids. Her muscles were constantly tense, prepared for battle.

She rolled over on to her side, still sacked out, and I massaged between her wings, trying to loosen her up some. She moaned softly out of contentment in her sleep, and I couldn't help but let my mouth quirk up in a smile. As I gently rubbed between Max's tense shoulder blades, I took a quick status-check of our surroundings.

The many crickets in the forest began their usual song as the sun sank beneath the horizon. Iggy had already built a fire over toward the center of the camp.

Ella had passed out everyone's carefully rationed granola bars and water bottles and the remaining blankets were laid out in a semicircle around the flickering fire. There were two other blankets, not counting the ones that Gazzy and Max were currently on.

Iggy and Ella were on one blanket while Nudge was on another. Talon was smart enough to sleep on the bare ground, away from Nudge. We all knew all too well that she was a notorious sleep-kicker.

Courage was already asleep next to Gazzy. Gazzy was sitting up, his blue eyes reflecting the flickering flames. He was absentmindedly playing with Courage's ash black hair. He had changed shirts, so he didn't look like he waded through a sea of his own blood.

Nudge, Talon, Ella, and Angel were asleep too. So, it was just Gazzy, Iggy and I who were awake.

I glanced over back at Max and then walked over to Gazzy and Iggy. Iggy looked up at me, unsmiling. Gazzy didn't even look up. There was silence for a few seconds. Crickets made that weird noise that they make. The fire flickered. A blood curdling howl rang through the night.

Not wolves. Erasers.

We were leaving. Now. And we wouldn't stop until we got to Dr. M's house and I got that chip taken out.

**Yes, It's short, but if I get a few reviews, I'll update again this weekend ;) **

**Thank you so much to luv it123, I couldn't have gotten through this week without ya! :) Read her stories, guys! They helped inspire this story! Plus, they're awesome anyways! :D I highly recommend it!  
**

**Well, what are you staring at the screen for? Review already!**


	5. Leaving

**Hi! Sadly, I couldn't update sooner, but I'm updating today! Also, I have a new poll that you guys should really vote on! I'd love to hear your opinions! **

**Here are my wonderful reviewers that deserve some attention!**

shortbandie9

luv it123

Mego225

**These guys are amazing! I really, really appreciate your reviews, guys! For that, this chapter is dedicated to them! **

**Gazzy POV**

The nightmarish howl of another Eraser rang through the woods. It was followed by a distant chorus of three, four, five others much like it. The Erasers were coming.

Only a moment after the howls, Courage tensed up next to me in her sleep. She made a small, squeak of terror like a dog in a thunderstorm.

I pulled her closer to me like I'd seen Fang do to Max a hundred times.

She stopped whimpering and moved even closer to me in her sleep. Courage was afraid of Erasers, even more than the rest of us, and I didn't blame her. She was raised in the Institute in New York, where she was created to be in the Flock with us. Instead, the whitecoats used her as the newly made Erasers' live chew toy.

I swear, I won't let another Eraser lay it's hairy claws on her again, or I'll kill em'.

I wouldn't even have to worry about her getting eaten by Erasers if it wasn't for Fang. It's his stupid fault that we're always on the run. His retarded chip is the reason is what keeps the Erasers coming.

Those jets would have never found us and I wouldn't have almost died if his chip wasn't there. I guess the saying 'you can run but you can't hide' really is true.

But it's Max's fault too. She won't even let Fang go you get that chip taken out. Her excuse to us is that 'it' too dangerous to go to a place that we've already been,' and 'That's the _first_ place that the School will look for us' and ' It's not only putting, us in danger, but it's putting my mom in danger'. We've never been in real school for more than two months, but we're not stupid.

I know the real reason that she doesn't want Fang to get that chip taken out. It's because she doesn't want to risk him getting hurt. Don't tell her I said this, but I'd feel the same way for Courage. But we're at more risk getting hurt now. Max is just being selfish now.

Well if Max keeps this up, I'll take Fang's chip out myself. I can't take this much longer.

I looked over at Iggy. He had already woken Ella, Nudge, Talon and Angel up. They were quickly and quietly wrapping up the blankets and putting them into the packs. Nudge yawned. Ella blinked groggily. Angel looked more agitated than sleepy as she slipped her pack on without a word and took off into the air.

"Gazzy, you wake Courage up and get her to put out the fire I don't want the smoke to give us away." Iggy said as he helped Ella with her pack.

I bet you're wondering how we can wear backpacks with our wings and all. Max's mom had them made for us, so they fit between our wings and we can still fly pretty well. I sighed. I missed eating Dr. M's Mexican food.

I heard Talon mumble in a tired voice, "Not like it matters. They already know where we are anyways."

I hated to wake Courage up, but we had to get up and out of there.

"Courage, you've got to wake up." I whispered. She mumbled something unintelligible. I shook her arm. "Come on, we've got to go!" I hissed. She stirred, but didn't wake.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Fang silently lift Max, who was still sleeping, up like the hero lifts the girl in the movies. He soundlessly took off in to the night followed by Talon and Nudge, then Iggy and Ella. Fang looked almost invisible in the night sky.

Hey, maybe I could lift Courage too. I put my arms under her and spread my wings out. I never would understand how Fang could open his wings so quietly. My feathers always ruffled when I moved them.

Iggy and Ella were circling above me, waiting for me to fly up too. I could see Iggy's 'What the heck are you doing?' look clearly. Without standing up, I started flapping my wings. I got only a few feet above the ground before I was panting and had to stop. I set Courage back on the ground without waking her.

I looked up and saw Iggy roll his eyes at me. He motioned for me to actually pick Courage up, _then_ to fly off. I knew that.

I picked her up and took off. I flew next to Iggy. I flapped my gray and white wings, which according to Courage, looks like a giant seagull's.

Courage muttered something. My name.

For some weird reason, I was really happy and my heart beat a little faster, like it did before a battle. I don't know what my problem is. I mean, Courage is my best friend. I don't know what to think anymore.

Iggy looked at my expression and snickered. I scowled.

"What?" I said irritably.

"Nothing. I just can't believe that she's still asleep after that horrible mess. You looked almost as stupid as Dylan did when he flew." Iggy said. Before I could, Ella flew behind him and smacked him on the back of the head.

"Ow! Ella? Jeez, what was that for?" Iggy growled as we tried to catch up with Fang and the rest.

"You know what! Stop being mean to Gazzy! He's just being nice! At least he_ let his girlfriend sleep!_ You know, I'm not that heavy!" Ella snapped as she flew ahead.

"I just… Ella, I… See, Gazzy, look what you've done. Ella, wait!" Iggy called as he struggled to catch up with her.

"She's not my girlfriend." I mumbled as I finally caught up behind Fang and flew up next to him.

Max was still asleep in his arms. He looked at me with an emotionless look, which was kind of scary at the same time.

"So where are we going?" I asked, keeping my distance.

"We're going to Dr. M's house. I'm getting this stupid chip out. No one else is getting hurt because of me." Fang said, that being one of the longest sentences I've ever heard him say.

"We're finally seeing my mom?" Ella asked excitedly as she cruised up to Fang's other side, with Iggy pouting closely behind her. She grinned and whooped. Her smile faltered.

"But what about Max? She won't let us go." Ella said sadly.

"We're going, whether Max approves or not." Fang said. We all nodded in agreement. There was a moment of silence. That didn't last long, because of course; all heck just had to break loose.

**I only had three reviews for the last chapter... I know that more of you read this, so where oh where have my reviewers gone?**

**Where-oh-where have my reviewers gone?**

**Oh where, oh where can they be?**

**Are the chapters too short?**

**Are the opinions too long?**

**Where-oh-where have my reviewers gone?**

**Ok, a short, dorky song that I came up with in Spanish class. But I really mean it. Please, can you try to suggest some ideas and review! Opinions, constructive criticism, I accept it all! I will dedicate the next chapter to ALL of my reviewers by name, so please review! Oh, and get the word out that this story is up any way possible! That would be absolutely amazing!**

**Ok, enough rambling and please review! A simple 'good' will do!**


	6. Falling

**Hi! I'm really trying to update! I have 5 WHOLE REVIEWS! They were all amazing and Silent-ninja-twins, Mego225, luv it123, shortbandie9, VivaLaKatee, & **katiegirl101199 ** thank you guys so much, this chapter is dedicated to you and I wish that I could do more. Hey, here's an idea, for those amazing reviewers who review for every chapter in the story, I'll dedicate the whole story to you in the last chapter! How's that? Or would you rather have virtual cookies?**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Maximum Ride, just the OCs. **

_Previously…_

"_We're finally seeing my mom?" Ella asked excitedly as she cruised up to Fang's other side, with Iggy pouting closely behind her. She grinned and whooped. Her smile faltered._

"_But what about Max? She won't let us go." Ella said sadly._

"_We're going, whether Max approves or not." Fang said. We all nodded in agreement. There was a moment of silence. That didn't last long, because of course; all heck just had to break loose._

**Fang POV**

Just when I thought that we were clear; I just had to be wrong. No, it wasn't flying Erasers. It was worse.

Four black choppers came at us from all directions. They were strangely fast for helicopters, and we were surrounded in seconds. Max would have already figured out a way to get out of this by now.

As if the choppers weren't bad enough, naturally, at least twelve big black hummers had to drive under us. Of course, the Hummers were chalked full of Erasers.

We were so screwed. This is so my fault.

Just to put the icing on the cake-of-our-doom, the choppers shot something out all out at once. At first I didn't get it, but then I realized that what they shot were nets. The nets expanded and formed one huge, weighted net.

They were going to catch us in a freaking net. Like butterflies. Wow, they sure treated us with respect. They could at least use tranquilizer before they put us into nets. Nets were just so…undignified. Did they think that us bird kids didn't have dignity or something. Jeez…

"Guys, get out of the way of the net! Evasive action! Meet at HQ!" I shouted, trying to channel my inner Max.

From what I saw, everyone obeyed orders, even Angel and started maneuvering like professional fighter pilots, and in a way, we were.

I was too busy playing Max and watching the rest of the Flock make it out safely to worry about my own safety. The choppers let go of the net, and it dropped. The Flock, who had gotten out of the way of the net, didn't fight and got the heck out of there.

The choppers started shooting after them, but strangely, didn't pursue them. Instead, they pivoted and started firing at me and Max. I heard something whizz past my ear. I didn't have any time to spare, so I tucked my wings in, pulled Max closer, and plummeted to the ground with the net rapidly pursuing me.

Strange looking bullets whistled past me and I felt Max twitch. Oh, god, I hope that she didn't get hit, but then again, she would have woken up if she'd been shot. Strange enough, she was still fast asleep.

The cold, thin air of the high altitude stung my eyes and they watered, but I was too focused on the rapidly approaching forest floor to care.

I had to save my hide, and Max's too.

I glanced at Max and noticed something strange sticking out of her arm that I didn't notice before. A tranquilizer dart. That's why she didn't wake up. Max has always been a light sleeper; I should have known that something was wrong when she didn't wake up at the sound of bullets!

As the net fell behind me, I realized that I had just fudged all of my chances for Max and me to escape. As soon as I opened my wings to glide out of the net's reach, it would fall on me, and we'd drop like rocks on the ground and be captured seconds after. That is, if the impact didn't kill us.

_Stupid! Stupid!_ I thought furiously. Great, now I've probably gotten into the habit of talking to myself, like Max.

Great, now I've screwed up both Max's and my chances of escaping!

I heard the all too familiar sound of bullet peppering through the air as I felt a fiery pain erupt in my right leg. I saw a blossom of red blood appear on my jeans. It hurt so bad that I could have barfed, but that would be really disgusting since I was free falling at two-hundred and fifty miles per hour.

I looked in the direction of the Flock. They were already specks on the horizon. Good. I didn't want them to get hurt too.

I plummeted to the ground, the blood on the leg of my jeans getting more widespread.

_I'm sorry, sweetheart._ I thought as I quickly kissed the top of Max's head. Then, I hit the ground.

**Iggy POV**

"Ok, everyone. Report!" Angel said. I rolled my eyes and Ella giggled. I smiled, but it was halfheartedly. Fang and Max were who knows were, maybe even dead and Angel had already grabbed Max's position.

"I'm not hit!" Courage said flatly. Gazzy nodded as he checked himself for spreading red blotches of blood. The rest of the Flock replied similarly.

It was quiet for a moment. The only sound that could be heard was the distant screaming of bullets as they were fired at lightning speed.

As expected, Nudge broke the silence.

"Angel, are Max and Fang alright?" she asked softly. Talon flew closer to her and bumped her wing with his wing good naturedly. She smiled a half smile at his attempt to cheer her up.

Angel rolled her eyes at the mention of the elder two bird-teens and concentrated for a second. She then smiled a sickly sweet smile.

"What?" I burst irritably. The silence was deafening.

Angel's curly blond hair framed her cruel smile perfectly. I glanced around to catch a glimpse of their reactions to Angel's creepiness.

Gazzy looked like he was about to hurl. Poor kid, his sister was a psychopath. As if our lives weren't screwed up enough already.

Courage looked at Angel in disgust, like she was road-kill that was dragged through a landfill and left to rot for a week.

Ella looked strangely violent, like she wanted to throttle Angel. Well, Max was her sister. I kind of saw the resemblance in their bloodthirsty snarl.

Talon looked wierded out and Nudge looked like she'd rather be anywhere else but there.

Angel finally spoke. "Nothing. Nothing that important." Angel said sweetly. "Fang got shot and crashed to the ground. He was holding Max, so she crashed too. I can't find any thoughts from them." She finished as if she was talking about something casual, like the weather.

I wasn't the only one who had a gaping mouth. Well, Nudge didn't really count since she bit her lip to prevent the sounds of her sobs from being heard. Talon wiped a few tears off of Nudge's nose.

Gazzy looked dumbstruck, like the world had just turned upside down. Courage flew in a grim silence.

Ella had only recently joined us in our fantastic life as bird kids, so she wasn't worried about hiding our emotions like the rest of us did. She'd grown up in a good home; she never had to worry about not giving some sadistic scientist the pleasure of seeing her cry.

My heart felt ice cold as she started openly crying at the loss of her sister. I played with a lock of her hair, the way that she liked me to, but she didn't even acknowledge me.

I stared at Angel coldly. I didn't even know her anymore. I really didn't. She didn't even resemble the same little girl that Max and Fang had practically raised. Mainly, Max took care of Angel, but Fang stepped in a lot.

Max and Fang were the closest thing that she had to parents! Max had risked her hide multiple times to save Angel and this is how she was repaid. She wanted Max and Fang dead.

That thought made me as queasy as Gazzy appeared to be. Angel giggled giddily.

"What could _possibly_ be funny?" Talon said sourly in his British accent. He was the only bird kid with an accent. Angel snickered.

"The last thing that Fang thought was that he was sorry that he had to let Max die along with him. I told him that he should have stayed gone, but he just had to come back to Max, and they both died." Angel said.

Nudge looked horrified. I shook my head, silently restraining myself from helping Ella deck Angel right here, one thousand feet above the ground.

"Well, enough moping. Since I'm leader, I say that we avoid Dr. Martinez's house altogether since we don't have to go there anymore." Angel said cheerfully.

It's like she didn't even realize that the reason that we didn't have to go to the Martinez's was because Fang didn't need the chip out because he was dead. Or the reason that Angel was the 'leader' in the first place was because Max, the real leader, was dead too.

"Since we don't have to run from the School anymore, I have my own mission that I need to accomplish, and then we can move to somewhere nice… maybe the West Coast!" Angel continued in her happy tone.

It was quiet. Everyone else was too wrapped up in grief to care about what Angel was saying. If she led them to a cliff and told them to jump, forget the wings, they'd do it.

"No." I said flatly. Everyone else looked time in shock, bet I was far from caring. Ella looked at me admirably.

"I'm not going anywhere else. I'm going to Ma… I mean Ella's mom's house, and whoever wants to can come with me. I'm not taking orders from you, Angel." I said, feeling all leadery and Max-like.

Immediately, Ella flew to my side.

"I'm coming with you." She said. I smiled at her and her warm brown eyes sparkled.

"Me too." Said Nudge at the same time as Talon. They flew closer to me and away from Angel.

"Ditto said Gazzy. Courage nodded fiercely and together, they took their spots next to me.

"You're welcome to come with us." I found myself saying. "But you're not the leader. Max is." I said finally as I turned and Flew into the direction of Dr. M's house with the Flock shortly behind me.

I glanced back at Angel. She was furious, her face practically purple in rage and her blue eyes colder than the deepest depths of the Pacific. She scrambled to keep up with us after a minute of pouting. I heard her mumbling darkly behind me.

Whatever, we were going to Dr. M's house. I don't know how the heck I'm supposed to tell her that her daughter was dead and her pretty-much-son-in-law died with her. I think I'd skip the part where Fang crashed the two to their dooms in the first place.

I didn't let the rest of the Flock see my silent tears at the loss of my two best friends, who were closer than siblings to me.

**Well, here's the update a day early. You're welcome! Please thank me with a review and I might even update tomorrow. All that I'm asking for is a few reviews.**

**And I don't know if this would be asking too much, but if you can think of any way to spread the word that this story is finally out, please, please do it. It would mean more than the world to me.**


	7. Skill

**I'm here! Again! I hope that I'm not talking to myself here, so prove me wrong by reading and reviewing! Enjoy the chapter!**

**This chapter is dedicated to my wonderful reviewers who reviewed for the last chapter! Here they are!**

WhatTheFnick xFang and Iggyx

shortbandie9

VivaLaKatee

silent-ninja-twins

**I wish that I could give you guys more than an extra-long, fax filled chapter!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Maximum Ride, just the OC's!**

_Previously…_

_Whatever, we were going to Dr. M's house. I don't know how the heck I'm supposed to tell her that her daughter was dead and her pretty-much-son-in-law died with her. I think I'd skip the part where Fang crashed the two to their dooms in the first place. _

**Max POV**

I woke with a throbbing headache that I recognized. I'd been shot with a tranquilizer. I hated those things.

I also felt a searing pain in my upper left arm. Yep, it was definitely broken.

I glanced around, looking for anything familiar. It was dark, but I could hear a faint pounding. Maybe it was my heartbeat. The smell is what gave everything away though.

No, it wasn't the antiseptic smell of the School.

I smelled a spicy musky smell that was so familiar and it made my head spin. I reached my hand out just a little and felt feathers. Fang.

I quickly squirmed out of Fang's tight grasp. I prayed to whoever was listening that Fang and I were safe, that the Flock was safe and that we weren't in the School locked in a white room or crammed in a dog crate.

I glanced around and sighed in relief. We were still in the woods. But where was the Flock? I looked at Fang, expecting him to be awake and alert. Instead, I almost screamed. And _believe_ me; it takes a lot to make me scream.

One of his legs was bent at a painful angle and the other had a pool of blood around it. The green grass was stained by his crimson blood. His black hair was plastered to his sweaty forehead. He was horribly wounded. I looked up, hoping to find Fang's attacker, because I was going to tear it to shreds. Whatever _it_ was.

Instead, I found a hole in the trees above us, as if something big fell through them. Then, everything clicked into place.

I ran over to Fang.

"Fang, are you alright? Say something!" I ordered. He didn't even move.

_Of course he isn't alright, you idiot! He fell from the freaking sky!_ I yelled at myself internally. I struggled to roll him onto his back, where I could get a better analysis of his injuries. Being pumped up with adrenaline, it didn't take long.

Fang's obsidian eyes snapped open and he grabbed my hand.

_Oh, thank God! He's not dead! He's not dead. I'm so glad…_ were the only coherent thoughts that I could manage.

I swear that his emotionless façade cracked for a second when he winced in pain. I didn't blame him, really. He was hurt, bad.

"Max!" was the first thing that he said and I almost melted like the girls did when the guys swooped them off their feet in those cheesy romance movies that Nudge always watches. "Are you ok?" He said, with his onyx eyes boring into mine.

"Fang, I'm fine! Look at you! You…" I rolled my eyes. "What the heck did you fall out of the sky for? We do have wings!" I said sarcastically.

Fang glared at me for a second.

"No really? Because when I got shot while carrying your butt across the sky, I swear that I was flying with my _wings_." Fang said as he rolled his eyes back at me.

Wait, hold the phone, he was shot?

"Were did you get shot?" I asked quickly. Wait I knew, that already. I mean, I hoped that there wasn't more than one place that he was oozing blood. I concentrated, and got that warm feeling that I got before when I healed Gazzy.

"My leg." Fang said as he tried to sit up. He got about halfway up before he inhaled sharply and laid back down. I knew then that he had at least a few broken ribs.

I ripped off my shirt sleeves, and tied them together. Then, I tied it to Fang's leg. There, that should stop the bleeding. Well, for a while anyways.

The moonlight glistened off of the beads of sweat that were formed on his forehead. His wings were splayed out. I noticed that one of his wings was definitely snapped in half. I don't even know how he was still conscious after all of that pain.

"Fang, first I'm going to heal that gunshot wound before you bleed to death. Then, 'll put a splint on your leg to set it strait, and then I'm going to do the same to your wing." I said. I was doing my best to hide my limp left arm from his line of sight; he shouldn't have to worry about me.

Tool late, he saw it and his dark eyes widened.

"Max! Your arm! Heal that first. Then go to your mom's house." Fang said. I looked at him like he had finally lost it.

"Me? You're way worse than I am. And I'm not leaving you." I said with a tone that firmly said that the matter was closed for discussion.

"Max." said Fang. I could tell that he was trying to argue but he was in too much pain to put up a good fight, he was just trying to hide it.

"Go ahead, try and stop me. Let's see how far you will get on two messed up legs. You can't stop me, so just suck it up and deal with it." I barked. I hated being so mean to him, but he was so dang stubborn.

His glare could have burned through solid steel, but I ignored him and grabbed two branches with my non-broken arm. I ripped off the hem of my T-shirt and kneeled down to splint his majorly broken leg. I wondered why he fell. I mean, most of us have been shot and haven't fallen. He has to fill me in on the details later.

He grabbed my hand. I looked up at his battered face. Those oh-so-dark brown eyes that I loved to get lost in met with my own brown eyes. Besides the probably agonizing pain that he was in and the fiery pain coming from my broken arm, it was a perfect moment.

The white moonlight poured onto Fang's black wings and hair. It reflected off of his scratched and patched leather jacket. It even glistened off his eyes a little bit, making his gaze even more captivating, if possible.

The crickets seemed to understand the situation and seemed to play a soft low country song. We both simultaneously leaned forward and our lips met in a kiss.

I bet my lips were chapped. I bet he wanted to cringe when I accidentally banged my teeth against his. I bet he hated the taste of blood in my mouth where I had bitten the inside of my cheek.

But neither of us were worried about what a lame kisser I was and more on the rare moment that we spent together, enjoying each other's presence.

Time seemed to freeze and the only thing that I could think about was Fang. Fang. Oh, _Fang_.

Just because we had gills, we still had to break apart for air like the rest of you have to do. Apparently, gills only work in water.

Our foreheads were gently touching one another's. His arms were wrapped around my waist and my good arm was around his shoulders. We were so close; I couldn't even tell the difference between his pupils and his irises.

"Max…" he said in a heavy whisper. His voice sent chills, the good kind, down my spine. I gently grabbed the back of his head and pulled him in for another kiss. I didn't want this moment to end. I wouldn't get many moments like this when I was taking care of the Flock.

Soon, my hands were ensnarled in his midnight black hair and his hands were gently working their way up my shirt, sending pleasurable chills through my body. Without thinking, I leaned in a little too close, trying to get at a better angle for kissing, when I fell on top of him.

Fang abruptly stopped kissing me and grunted. I jumped back, like five feet.

"Fang I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to! I forgot…" I trailed off.

His eyes were closed tight, and he didn't say a word. I then got a brilliant idea.

"Hey, I could heal you, and then we could pick up where we left off…" I said softly. Fang didn't say anything. I crawled closer then sat up right next to him. I felt the warm, burning sensation that I did when I healed Gazzy. I had to touch his bare skin to heal him. First, I would heal his broken ribs, so it'd be easier for him to breathe. I gently lifted his shirt, to see his perfect abs.

I reached my hand over to touch him, for healing purposes only, mind you. Then, in a flash, Fang's hand was around my wrist, holding my good arm in place.

"What's your problem! I'm trying to help you, idiot!" I hissed as I struggled pointlessly against him.

"Max!" He growled viscously. I was so startled at his tone, that I shot back, his hand still holding my wrist captive. He never, never used that tone with me; even when we argued. He only talked like that to enemies, like whitecoats, when he talked at all.

When he saw my unintended reaction, he softened.

"Max," he said in a much softer tone. "Heal yourself first. You're more important." He said.

"No!" I snapped. "No, you're injured! You're much worse off than me." I said with finality. I thought that I'd won when he let go of my hand. However, the burning, healing feeling that I got before I healed someone was gone. Just to be sure, I touched his stomach. Nada. It didn't do a flipping thing.

"What is the matter with me?" I whispered angrily. Fang's brows furrowed. I didn't know what his problem was. His powers weren't screwing with him. He then gently touched my limp left hand. It hurt.

"What are you doing?" I growled.

In a moment, I felt a warm, delicious warmth enter my body from where Fang was touching my hand.

No, it wasn't love. I watched in amazement as my arm shifted back into its normal position and the feeling returned to it. The last time that I checked, love couldn't heal broken arms.

I couldn't believe it. Fang had healed my arm. Why didn't he heal himself? And why didn't he tell me about his new power?

Fang grinned at me with a super rare, light-up-the-sky- Fang grins and I had to smile back.

"How'd you do that?" I asked, with mild curiosity seeping into my voice.

"You're not the only one with a new skill." Fang said, his eyes searching me for any reaction. He sure as heck got one.

"Why didn't you tell me earlier? How long have you had it? Why didn't my powers work? What…" I was cut off by Fang covering my mouth, like he often did to Nudge.

As soon as his skin touched mine, the warmth that I had before I healed someone returned. My healing skill was back.

What the heck was going on around here? I hated being left in the dark, and Fang should know that by now.

"Enlighten me." I ordered, snapping into leader-mode.

"Chill Max, I just got my skill a few seconds ago." Fang said, his face not revealing anything, like usual. "But as far as I know I can take other peoples powers, and use them too."

My jaw slacked, just for a second. If he couldn't wreak havoc with his first skill, he sure as heck could now.

"Well, then let me heal you." I snapped as I raced over to heal his ribs when he once again, grabbed my wrist. This was really getting old.

"What?" I spat impatiently.

"You know how much healing tires you out. You wouldn't be able to fly." Fang said. I glared at him.

"So?" I said. "I'll be fine. Now, what really needs to happen is you need to let me go and heal you!" I whisper-yelled. Fang was as emotionless as ever.

"No, we need to get out of here." Fang said just as the bone-chilling howl of an Eraser that had our scent rang through the quiet night. The crickets seemed to stop.

"Now." Fang finished.

I understood the situation. Fang couldn't heal himself, because he would be more tired than I was after I healed Gazzy. Fang couldn't heal himself. He was already beat from healing me. I could see that he was tired. But if he didn't, then he couldn't take off without his legs, and god knows that I can't fly far while carrying him. Not that he was fat, he was just pure muscle and dead weight is a liability in the air.

I knew what I had to do. There wasn't a choice. I sure wasn't going to leave him behind. I took a running start, built up a ton of momentum, and spread out my wings, I ran up to Fang, half flying, half running, and grabbed him under his arms.

I flapped as fast and as hard as I could, and amazingly, we lifted off the ground.

"Fang, I can't keep this up, you…." I started.

"I know." He finished as he spread out his huge black wings and began flapping. He could fly without legs. I would figure out the landing issue later. Right now, we just had to get out of there.

Fang flapped his wings and I let go, praying that he wouldn't splat on the ground.

He didn't and we flew off, away from the angry howls of the Erasers that we barely escaped. I don't know how long we could fly, but I was hoping that we'd make it in a nonstop flight to my mom's house. Fang needed more help than I could give him. We were going to get that chip out.

**Wow, I'm dead tired. I owe the idea of Fang's power to luv it123! Thank you for reading and I really hope that you review! If you do, I'll update again… SOON!**

**Thank you guys for your patience! I hope that you liked the story! I live for reviews, so feel free if you feel like the story was worth reading!**


	8. Drama

**I'm wrapping up this story and it might involve one or two more chapters after this one. I read ANGEL and was appalled. No spoilers here, unless you ask for one, but I originally planned to get out of the Maximum Ride category all together and give up on the series. It was too depressing to continue. **

**However, like I told one of my friends; I'll die a fax fan and NOTHING will change that. I will write Fax because fax will never truly die, as long as there are people who love it. **

**A big thanks to my wonderful reviewers: **VivaLaKatee, luv it123, WhatTheFnick xFang and Iggyx, silent-ninja-twins, shortbandie9, Mego225.

**Wow, you guys are amazing!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Maximum Ride, just the OC's!**

_Previously…_

_Fang flapped his wings and I let go, praying that he wouldn't splat on the ground._

_He didn't and we flew off, away from the angry howls of the Erasers that we barely escaped. I don't know how long we could fly, but I was hoping that we'd make it in a nonstop flight to my mom's house. Fang needed more help than I could give him. We were going to get that chip out. _

**MAX POV**

Fang's flying was awkward and off balance, but he was trying to hide it with a determination that only Fang could muster.

He caught me staring at him. Sweat dripped off his face.

"I'm fine!" he snapped. I was a little ticked at his tone, even though he was hurt.

"Oh yeah, well why don't you use your new skill and absorb my warp flying power and we can get out of here faster!" I shot back. He looked in the other direction and acted like he hadn't heard me. He and I both knew that he couldn't use his power, or it'd kill him. He's sap all his energy that way.

After an hour of silence, Fang dropping a few feet, me suggesting that we stop for a second, and Fang refusing, we finally made it to my mother's house.

We landed, both of us clumsier than our usual. Hey, we almost _died_. Give us a break.

Fang's steps were shaky and unstable, like he was about to fall over. I looked at him closely as I rang the doorbell. I made sure that my wings were loose, in case we had to make a quick getaway.

Fang's black hair was matted to his forehead and his face was slick with sweat. Even though his shirt was black I could see the sweat which made his shirt stick like glue to his abs.

He caught me staring at that last part and managed a smirk, but it looked more like a grimace.

The door opened and my mother's tired face appeared on the other side. Her tiredness soon disappeared as her eyes met with mine. She stared at me for a moment and slowly stepped forward, gently stroking my cheek.

"Max, is it really you?" My mom said. I nodded, my eyes tearing up. So sue me, I hadn't seen her in a year, what do you expect, a casual, "What's up?"

In a moment, we were hugging and she cried. Okay, I cried a little too. Don't tell anyone. I glanced at Fang over my mother's shaking shoulder. He was paler than ever and looked like he was about to keel over… or barf…or both.

He had lost way too much blood and there was nothing that my healing ability could do about that.

I abruptly broke the hug. My mom realized within a moment's notice that something was horribly wrong.

"Help Fang, he's lost too much blood." I told my mom as she glanced over to Fang, who was now leaning heavily against the wall.

" 'M fine." He mumbled, sweat glistening off his forehead.

"He's lying." I told my mom flatly. _ No dur, Captain Obvious._ I told myself.

"Am not. She fell out of the sky and was shot with a tranquilizer. Help her." He hissed. He was in more pain than I could imagine.

He didn't show emotion. At all. Even when he was dying on the beach that one time. I never got too see him die for real, so I didn't know how he behaved then. Probably like he did normally. But this time, he actually showed that he was in pain, although he desperately tried to hide it.

"He fell out of the sky, and broke like, _everything_. Not to mention, he was _shot_." I fired back. He was about to say something, but he immediately fell to his knees and vomited into the bushes. This would've been gross and a little funny if it wasn't so scary.

Fang NEVER got sick. Ever. Even after he ate food that I cooked. Now I knew that there was only a little time left to save Fang. My feeble healing powers were no match for the excessive wounds that he had.

I would fall over dead from lack of energy if I tried to heal a paper cut, much less life threatening wounds.

I rushed over to Fang, who was now lying against the wall, pale as a…. corpse. His dark brown eyes fluttered shut. He was unconscious now. This was bad, really, really, oh-so-very- bad.

"Help." I squeaked.

My mom's eyes widened, then hardened with a determination that I sometimes had. She bolted into the house. What the heck was she doing? We had to get Fang to the hospital or something!

I started dragging Fang to my mom's van. I put my arms under his arms and lifted him to where only the soles of his combat boots dragged on the hot pavement.

I saw movement in the second story window of my mom's house. It was the Flock. They were shocked and in a moment, they were gone from the window.

With one free hand, I slung the van door open hauled Fang up into the van. I laid his limp body across the seat, with my heart pounding in my throat. Never had he looked so vulnerable, except when he was really, really dead in Dr. Häagen-Dazs lab.

I pushed that terrifying thought aside. Fang wouldn't die. I wouldn't let him. We've had a few close calls, but he always pulled through. It would be no different this time. I slid into the same bench-seat that Fang was on and put his head in my lap. I gently brushed his long bangs out of his face. His skin was hot to the touch.

I tried to gulp down my fear, but it couldn't get past the lump in my throat.

_Fang's not going to die. Fang's not going to die. Fang's not going to die. _I chanted in my head.

_You don't know that. _said a voice in my head that was totally not mine. It wasn't the Voice either. It only could be one person. Angel.

_He's dying. There's nothing that you can do. I can feel his thoughts already slipping away. He's almost gone._ Angel's voice said in a sinister tone.

"NO!" I snarled out loud, so frustrated with the whole 'Fang's gonna die' scenario that Angel was trying to push on us.

Then, the Flock, except for Angel, came bursting into the van, flooding the vehicle with their worried and relieved comments all at once. It was deafening, but I was kind of glad that at least someone besides Fang and my mother would miss me if I died.

"Guy's, I'm perfectly fine. It's… Fang. He's in really bad shape." I said, hating myself for letting my voice crack in that last part.

"I can see that." Talon said flatly. He'd picked up on Flock sarcasm very well. I was impressed.

After an eternity of waiting, which turned out to be only a few seconds, my mom sprinted into the car, with car keys and her medical bag in hand. What the…

Apparently, we were going to the veterinary hospital. For animals. How ironic.

My mom put the pedal to the medal and shot off in the direction of the animal clinic.

I was surprised at the silence in the backseat. Usually, there was mumbling, Nudge rambling, and occasional bursts of laughter. Instead, it was nauseatingly quiet. My mom broke the silence.

"We're going to the vet clinic, and because it's Sunday, there's no one there. It's closed on Sundays. That way, there will be no annoying questions asked." My mom said as she swerved thorough lanes of traffic, the much slower cars honking at our van. She honked right back. I love my mom.

Thank God, there were no cops around; otherwise we would have been so, so dead. Anyways, we pulled into the parking lot of the vet clinic. I slid the door open before the van stopped and started pulling Fang out of the van. That was when I screamed.

The seat where Fang was laying a second ago was soaked with blood. I whipped my hand over to the leg of his jeans; I stared at my hand, which was stained red with his blood.

"He's bleeding, bad." I managed. Iggy grabbed Fang's legs and I grabbed his front end and we carried him into the building, my mom holding doors open and telling us which direction to go.

She finally told us to stop and turn into a room. My heart was pounding in my chest. This place was so like the School, it was scary. I reluctantly put Fang on the operating table. I held on to his hand. Was it just me, or did he feel colder?

My mom flashed in from room to room, bringing various pieces of equipment with her. She told the rest of the Flock to wait out in the waiting area. She knew better than asking me to leave, because we both knew that I wouldn't leave Fang.

After an agonizing hour or two, Mom had Fang in a semi-stable condition. I gave as much blood as I could. Iggy, Talon, Ella, and even Nudge gave blood.

I held on to Fang's hand and prayed that he was doing the same.

Then, I smiled. Fang had opened his eyes.

"Well, I now know one thing." I said smugly.

He looked as emotionless as ever, which I took as a good sign.

"What? That you weigh a freaking ton?" Fang said. I smiled dryly at him.

"No, it's that you looove me too. You said so yourself." I said.

I just wanted to see his reaction. He was given a lot of drugs during his stay at the animal clinic, but no Valium or anything of the sort, unfortunately. I kind of wanted to see what he would sound like when he was all loopy.

His eyes widened by a miniscule degree.

"I did not. You didn't give me any Valium." Fang said, eyeing me carefully, obviously looking for a crack in my poker face. "Now I know you didn't." he finished flatly.

It was kind of scary that he could read me that well. It was like he was a mind-reader too.

I stared into his dark eyes. Then, I couldn't hold it in any longer. I hugged him. All of my fears and worries washed away as he tightened his grip around my shoulders.

"I do love you, Max. In fact, I was hoping for a better place and time but," He started. I looked at him, confused, as he fumbled in his jeans pocket.

I wondered what the heck he was talking about. Maybe he did get some of that Valium after all.

Then, he did something that surprised the crap out of me. He pulled out a little diamond ring.

"Max, will you marry me?" he asked.

**Hehehe, I know, I'm evil for stopping here, but I'm freaking tired and there's more fax to come in two more chapters, so make this worth it and review!**


	9. No

**Chapter 9**

_Previously…_

"_I do love you, Max. In fact, I was hoping for a better place and time but," He started. I looked at him, confused, as he fumbled in his jeans pocket. _

_I wondered what the heck he was talking about. Maybe he did get some of that Valium after all._

_Then, he did something that surprised the crap out of me. He pulled out a little diamond ring._

"_Max, will you marry me?" he asked._

**Max POV**

I couldn't breathe. My heart wouldn't start beating again. Heck, I couldn't even blink.

It was as if time had frozen itself, and all I could do was stare at the dainty little diamond ring that Fang had in his hand.

I glanced up at his stoic face, hoping for at least some hint to the emotion that he was feeling right now. He was closed off, and about as emotional as a stone right now.

"I…I just…" I trailed off, unable to speak in complete sentences. He had surprised me, and that was kind of hard to do nowadays.

The thousands of emotions that were fighting for dominance weren't helping me out either. Not to mention the epic battle that was going on between my head and my heart. Heck, I couldn't decide whether to scream, cry, laugh, run, yell at Fang for doing this to me, or squeal like a little girl and bounce up and down.

After a moment of Fang's deep, dark eyes boring holes into my skull and the luminescent lights of the clinic making the diamond sparkle, I figured out how to form a coherent sentence.

"Fang, I…I don't want to know how you got that ring or where you're hoping this will end up but… I can't." I said, not being able to look into Fang's eyes, afraid of what I might see.

I'm not very good at being patient or at self-control, mostly, so I just _had _to eventually look up at Fang's face. It showed some emotion all right, and I really wish that he hadn't chose now of all times to be un-emotionless.

His eyes looked like shattered glass, fragments of hurt, pain, heartbreak in small, dagger-like pieces. Worst of all, that dagger-like pieces of Fang's emotions penetrated my heart and stung like stab wounds, but worse. Unfortunately, I speak from experience.

Then, his expression hardened, and before his guard went back into place, I saw something that I never wanted to see directed at me, well, at least from him. Hatred.

"Fang. You don't know how much I want to. I really, really do. I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I want to be married to you, stop running, and stop worrying about everybody and everything. I want to let the world just be saved already. I want it to be just you and me. But that can't happen no matter what I do." I started. Fang stared at me coldly from the stainless steel operating table.

"I have to save the world. I have to take care of the Flock and there will always be people that hate us. We'll always be running. And you and I both remember what the whitecoats want us to do. I don't want our kids to have the lives that we've had. I never, ever want to have someone go through what we've been through. It wouldn't be fair to them. I'm so sick of running and I don't know how much more of this anyone can take. I just can't Fang. Not now." I finished. That was the hardest thing that I've ever had to say.

It didn't make it easier when Fang glared at me with the glare that he reserved for whitecoats and Erasers. It was downright terrifying, and I took a step back self-consciously. His glare didn't let up.

"If it mattered enough to you, it could work. You just don't want it to work." Fang snapped, being totally out of character. I was about to ague but he knew that was coming and resumed speaking before I could say a syllable.

"You're afraid of commitment and extra responsibility. You can take care of the Flock, so what's the big deal? You're afraid of your emotions. I never thought that you of all people were a coward. I was wrong." Fang growled.

"What? Me, a coward? I don't think so! Who ran away from us, from me when life in the Flock got hard? YOU did, Fang! You left me with… that, monster Dylan! You left us when we needed you! You left me! If anyone can't handle commitment, it's you. No one made you promise to stay with me, but you did! You promised, but it was a lie! What difference will it make if we make promises in a church if you can't keep them?" I fired back. Fang's furious glower intensified.

"I left because I had to! If I would have stayed, then it would have killed you and the rest of the Flock! And you were the one who almost died after I left. You couldn't even stand up without me. You promised to take care of the Flock, and you screwed that multiple times! Don't lecture me about commitment." Fang sneered. I looked at him in shock.

This wasn't the Fang I knew from when we were kids. I didn't love the Fang that I was fighting with. I didn't even know him. Every word that Fang said was like a hard blow to the gut. If this was the real Fang that I was in love with, I didn't want to be anymore.

"I don't even know you anymore, Fang." I said so quietly, that I barely heard it myself as I ran out of the room, not once looking back. Hot, angry tears nipped the back of my eyes, but I ignored them as I sprinted as far away from Fang as possible.

I pushed past Ella and Nudge.

"Max? What's wrong?" Ella said. Nudge looked confused. Iggy grabbed my shoulders. "Max." He said.

"Let me go." I growled, visibly wincing as my voice cracked from emotion that I was trying to conceal.

"What happened?" Nudge piped in. "Did something happen? Does Fang have amnesia like you did and doesn't remember anything? I once saw this soap opera on cable where this lady's husband had amnesia and was really the guy's evil….." Iggy Talon's hand shot over her mouth.

I couldn't take this press conference right then and I just needed time alone to sort my feelings. Just the mention of Fang's name made all my heart shatter all over again. It was like losing him all over again.

I brutally shoved past the lot of them and bulldozed down the hallway.

I passed the snack machine where I saw Gazzy and Courage trying to do something that they probably shouldn't be doing to the machine. I let them get away with it just this once. I hoped that I could keep it together long enough to get away from there.

I brutally shoved the doors open and burst outside and into the back parking lot. It was completely deserted and would be the ideal place for a takeoff. I spread my wings, not slowing from my sprint. In a moment, I was flying, soaring through the sky. I sucked in a breath, and let it come out raggedly. Forcing my emotions into a box, like I always did. I just needed to get organized and follow the wind. Wherever that took me.

**Dr. Martinez POV**

I returned from the supply room to get a certain medical medicine and walked to the waiting room. Just when I was around the corner, I heard angry voices, well, one in particular, then the sound of running footsteps.

Who could blame me, but I assumed that it could only be trouble. I marched into the supply room, ready to do anything in my power to help, when I saw that there was only Iggy, Talon, Ella, and Nudge standing there, with puzzled expressions on their faces.

"Do you know what that was all about?" Iggy asked me. I looked into his blue eyes, still a little miffed at him for messing around with Ella without my permission. He didn't shrink back. I guess… whatever.

"No, I was in the supply room. What happened?" I asked. "Wait, where are Courage and Gazzy? And Max is still in there with Fang, right?"

Nudge answered.

"Well, Max came running out of Fang's room and looked really upset. She tried to get past, but Iggy stopped her. She yelled at him, but it didn't work very well because she was about to cry and all, but she broke free and ran down the hall. I heard the outside door slam shut so she must have gone for a flight so she could clear her head. That answers your first question and the last one too. Gazzy said something about getting snickers bars from the snack machine and Courage went with him." Nudge said in one breath. Talon motioned for her to stop rambling and she stopped chattering.

"So yeah. That sums it up." Iggy said. Well, as long as no one is doing anything illegal, or dying I'm ok. Max will come back eventually like she usually does.

"I've got to give this tetanus shot to Fang; it may take a while, so just wait a little bit longer." I said and they nodded.

I walked into Fang's room to find him lying on his stomach, his wings out halfway.

He didn't acknowledge me, but by the way his shoulders tensed up, I knew that he had heard me come in.

"I have to give you tetanus shot because, well you've probably never had one before and after that gunshot wound and those scratches, you need one." I said. He wordlessly held his arm up, but was tenser than before. I put some alcohol on his arm, where I would administer the shot. I couldn't help but notice thousands of small scars on his arm where large needles once penetrated the skin. He was no stranger to shots.

I felt a pang of sadness for him and the rest of the Flock. No person should have to endure what they have. Especially when they were children.

I injected the shot into his arm as quickly and as effectively as possible. Fang didn't even flinch. I did see on the heart rate monitor that his normally fast heartbeat had spiked up to twice its normal rate, however. I didn't blame him one bit. It must've brought back horrible memories like the smell of the clinic did when I first brought Max here, in what seemed like a lifetime ago.

I stepped back and put the empty needle on the counter.

"Is there anything else that I can do?" I asked. I was surprised when Fang's huge black wings snapped against his back and disappeared beneath his beat up leather jacket. He had something in his hand, but shoved it into the pocket of his jeans.

He sat up and looked at me for the first time since I had entered the room.

"Yeah, you could take my chip out." He said. Now, I was confused. A chip? Like the one Max had? I had enough trouble as it was removing Max's chip, and it took the expert surgeons at the school to fix the damage that'd done. Max could have lost the use of her arm.

Fang saw me internally debating whether or not I should take his chip out.

"If you don't, then you could put me to sleep or 'retire' me. Either way's fine." He said flatly.

I was shocked at him. He didn't have to die. I certainly wouldn't be the one to do so. Putting an animal to sleep is one thing, but doing that to a person is murder.

"It's not murder if the person isn't human." Fang retorted. Sometimes, he could be scarier than Angel. He had to be able to read minds. There was no other explanation. I was going to argue, but truthfully didn't know where to start.

"You're human enough." I said. "Do you know where the chip is?" I asked.

Fang shook his head.

"Well, we can always find out." I said.

Soundlessly, (What else is new) Fang stepped on the floor and walked over to the door, limping slightly.

I led him to the X-ray room.

I told him to relax and lay down on the cot. I was going to have to do a full body X ray, but considering the fact that this was an animal clinic, the machine was too small. I was going to have to do it piece by piece.

"You're going to have to take off your jacket and anything else with metal on it. Fang kicked off his shoes and shrugged his jacket off. He then reached into his pocket, as if he was going to take something out bet decided not to. Puzzled, I told him to try and relax and it would be done in a moment. I didn't know how many times that he had heard that from whitecoats at the School.

After a few minutes, I had the pictures up on the light board so I could see them Fang slipped his Jacket and shoes on and looked at the board too. I looked at the image of his upper leg, the one with the pocket where Fang was hiding something.

"The chip will be a bright white square, since it is metal." I said as I studied the image closer. "But I don't know what that is." I said pointing to the small, hollow circle next to his leg.

It was a ring. I had seen enough of those in X-rays of pets when the pet had accidentally eaten the owner's wedding ring.

A metal ring. I looked closer and saw a little diamond on the X-ray. I didn't expect that… All the pieces finally connected. Max running away, looking upset. Fang insisting on getting the chip out. Fang had proposed to Max. Apparently, she had said no.

I looked over at Fang, who appeared as emotionless as ever, but his hand was now in the pocket where the ring was hidden.

As a mother, I should have been upset for a few reasons, one of them being that he asked to marry my daughter without my permission. Max wasn't a normal daughter though. And she was not normal. I knew good and well that they were mature enough for marriage at this age, time on the run and being hunted like animals had matured them to be wiser than most adults. I didn't know what had happened in order for Max to refuse, but I intended to find out.

I shook that thought off, and continued scouring the images. Then, Fang spoke up.

"What about that?" he said as he tapped on the picture of his chest. I gasped. There was something there all right. It was a tracking chip like Max's. Hers was in her arm. His was implanted in his heart.

This would take open heart surgery. I couldn't risk taking them to a normal hospital. The whitecoats have spies everywhere, especially in medical faculties. They would capture the whole Flock and take them back to the horrid School.

I had to do this.

Fang looked at me, his impassive eyes unchanging.

"I'm probably not gonna live, right." Fang said dryly, as if he was talking about a boring joke.

"No, it's fine. It'll be tricky but I can do this." I said as cheerily possible, trying to lie smoothly.

Fang stared at me, and somehow I knew that he detected my lie.

"Probably not, Fang." I said quietly. He nodded.

"The sooner the better. Be sure to get that chip as far away from here as possible." Fang said.

I tried to hide my shock, but really couldn't. He knew that he was going to die, and was still worried about them being able to track the chip back to the Flock and me.

"Will do, Fang. I just need about forty-five minutes to set up for the surgery." I said.

"Make that thirty." Fang said.

"Maybe we should wait until Max comes back to start the surgery." I said.

"No!" Fang said more quickly than usual. "She'd never let me. That's why we couldn't come back here in over a year. Max didn't want anyone to get hurt, especially you. That's why we have to get it out. Now." Fang said.

That was the longest statement I'd ever heard from him. He was right. Max was overprotective, and I admired her for it, but she wasn't making the best decisions for the Flock.

"Don't you want to tell her anything?" I said. Fang's gaze was eerie as he said, "Tell her that I'm sorry. The wellbeing of the Flock is more important than us."

I swallowed down the nervous feeling in my throat. I unhooked Fang from the heart monitor that he was attached to and led him into the operating room. I quickly pulled out all of the materials that I would need. While I was riffling through cabinets, I started giving him directions.

"You'll have to take your shirt off and I'll have to hook you up to an EKG machine and a heart rate monitor. Don't worry, you won't need any Valium, but I will have to knock you out with a different type of drug." I said, remembering Max's wacky statements when I removed her chip. I couldn't have Fang still conscious while the surgery was taking place.

Fang's mouth quirked up a little bit, and that's how I knew that he remembered the last Valium incident too…unless there was another one I didn't know about.

Finally, I had all the necessary equipment in order and on the tray. I rewashed my hands, put on a new smock and pair of gloves and finally put a face mask on. My hair was already up and back from the previous work.

I saw Fang eyeing the scalpels, his eyes darker than usual. More bad memories, I presume.

"It'll all be over soon. I just have to go get the Flock so you can talk for a minute, then I'll hook you up to all the machines and get started." I said, trying to not sound fearful myself.

His life was in my hands. I've seen open heart surgery many times throughout medical school and a few times when I was in a hospital. I've preformed one on a human while I was a senior in medical school. I've performed many since then on animals, but I've never done one on…an Avian-human before.

It's pretty pathetic when the doctor is more scared then the patient.

I walked down the hall and brought the Flock in. They were all quiet, but when they saw Fang, they started talking.

"You're going to be fine."

"Dr.M is going to do a great job!"

"Once the chip is out, just think, we won't have to run anymore, we can live in one place, maybe even go to school!"

"What happened with you and Max?"

After that last question, the room rang with an uncomfortable silence.

"Nothing, Max just didn't like the idea of me getting surgery. That's all, she'll be fine." Fang said, his stoic expression perfectly covering the fact that he was flat out lying.

"Ok guys, I've got to get started." I said. The Flock filed out after exchanging temporary farewells. The Flock filed out of the room. All except for Iggy. Fang tapped Iggy twice on the hand. A look of firm understanding passed between them and Fang nodded. Iggy, wordlessly, left the room.

I didn't understand what had happened at all, but I would never really understand them.

Fang took his shirt off and I hooked him up to various machines with the correct wires.

"Ready?" I asked. I really needed an anesthetist for this. Fang nodded tersely.

"Okay, now count to ten…" I said. Three seconds later, Fang's heart rate slowed down a little and his breathing evened out. He was out cold.

I took a deep breath, and then began the procedure, praying that I wouldn't screw this up.

**Max POV**

I sat in the highest branches of a tall pine tree, finally stable enough to deal with people again. My emotions were tightly sealed inside of me like they were in an emotion-free Ziploc bag. I looked down to the ground, about sixty or so feet below, and saw my reflection in the placid water.

The redness in my eyes from crying was almost completely gone and my nose wasn't running anymore. I took that as a good sign.

My life was so screwed, it was sad. I'm worried about my winged boyfriend who had private medical treatment in an animal clinic courtesy of my vetenarian mother that I had just seen for the first time a year ago, and the whole reason that my boyfriend needs medical attention was because he was shot by slobbering bloodthirsty werewolves and he asked me to marry him even though we are only sixteen but I don't know if I should because we are still in danger from being killed every day and I have to play mom for half a dozen more winged kids and for once I don't know what to do.

If _that_ wasn't a weird sentence, then re-read it.

After a short pep talk with the Voice in my head, I still haven't decided what to do about the huge fight I had with Fang.

My head felt like exploding, and it probably hurt worse than the time that the Voice actually entered my head. If you don't remember or didn't read the first book, it hurt pretty darn bad. Emotions were too confusing.

Fang seemed so sure that he wanted to get married. I mean, he even had the little cliché diamond ring. Sure, it wasn't the cliché setting and he didn't get on one knee, but that was because he was on an operating table. Still…

I leaped out of the tree, spreading my brown and white wings wide, lifting on the breeze. I glided higher and higher, until I was staring at the tiny spec that was the tree that I was previously sitting in.

I flew back to the clinic, back to my mom, the Flock, my boyfriend, and all of my migraine-causing troubles… if that isn't the same thing.

I looped in a circle a couple of times like a vulture circles it's next maggot-filled meal before landing.

I landed so gracefully, that I wished Fang were there to see it. The thought of Fang's signature half smile/smirk thing that he did sent another wave of depression through me. I had to set things right.

I marched inside, through the hall decorated with pictures of happy, healthy animals. How refreshing.

I stepped into the waiting room to find the silence eerie. The sound of my combat boots on the ground echoed loudly.

The faces of my Flock were still and solemn. No giggling, flirting or bickering. Something was really wrong.

"Iggy, what happened?" I said, hating that sentence because it never had a positive answer. Iggy's blue eyes looked sad and I had a vague idea of what happened.

"No, no…" I mumbled. I felt lost. I looked desperately in the faces of the Flock, except for Angel who was still at my mom's house. They were all so, so sad. But there was more pity than sadness in their eyes. Pity, for me… oh God no….

"It's not true…" I said. Ella chocked back a sob and that's when I knew that they weren't playing one of their cruel pranks.

"NO!" I shouted like a little kid. I didn't care. My heavy combat boots pounded against the shiny linoleum floor tiles. I screeched to a halt outside of Fang's room. It was empty.

Then there was a sound that I loathed coming from down the hallway. My mother, crying. My heart pounded against my chest, like an animal trying to break free of its cage.

I skidded and my shoes squeaked. I tried the door. Locked, but my mother was definitely crying in that room. Then, I heard it. The long, annoying, endless beep coming from a heart rate machine.

**I didn't want to stop here, but I was so tired. Someone convinced me to write a few more chapters than I was planning, so I will, if YOU PEOPLE REVIEW ALREADY! Spelling errors not intended.**


	10. Mourning

**Thank you for all the reviews/story/author alerts! I feel so wonderful now! Without further ado, here is chapter 10! And a big THANK YOU to all my anonymous reviewers! I'd love to reply to every one of your reviews individually, but since I can't, I'll thank you right now! Thank you!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Max Ride, or Iggy, or Fang… aww, look, I'm sad now… :'(**

**Chapter 10**

**Gazzy POV**

It had been about an hour since Fang went into surgery. I didn't know any details to where Fang's chip was, or even how the surgery was going.

Iggy and Ella tried to be cheerful, but I've known Iggy _forever _and knew when he was lying. The news couldn't be good.

Courage sat next to me, with her head on my shoulder. Since it was all quiet, I could be wondering what was going on with me. Courage was my friend. My best friend, even.

Heck, I was closer to her than I was to Iggy, and that's saying a lot. It's kind of a good thing since Iggy has moved on to Ella now. It's kind of like that he's a different person now that Ella's here. More adult like, less carefree.

But did friends feel so… drawn to each other? I mean, I wasn't this protective or caring about anybody in the Flock before. Not even Angel. Courage was different. The way that I treated her was different. Something was definitely different between us, but I don't know what.

My thoughts were halted when my heart clenched, along with everyone else's in the room.

Crying.

Dr. M was crying.

My head whipped over to Ella and Iggy. They would know how to react.

Ella was crying into Iggy's gray shirt. Iggy looked at me; his regained sight had become a useful skill.

His eyes were so, so sad. Sadder than I've ever seen them. That was what gave the whole situation away. Everything was crystal clear, but I wished that it would go back to being foggy and undecipherable again. Wondering what was happening was a heck of a lot better than knowing.

I knew. Fang was dead. For real. Permanently.

With Fang gone, now Max would probably get sad again and die too. Then what?

Would Angel lead the Flock like she's always wanted to? God, I hoped not. Just because she's my sister doesn't mean that I'm fine with her 'take over the Flock' campaign.

Fang was really gone.

Courage was awake now and had instantly understood the whole situation. I silently marveled. I couldn't even tell you what I wanted for breakfast, let alone understand what's happening around me after just waking up. At least, it wouldn't be easy.

Courage's big green eyes teared up then she hastily wiped the moisture away. She had come to think of Fang like a big brother too. Even though she was still kind of new to the Flock, she understood and knew that we were all family, even though we weren't related by blood.

I couldn't be weak. I had to be tough, like Iggy. Iggy wasn't crying, even though I knew he felt like it.

I wouldn't cry either, even though Fang, who had read me bed time stories every night while Max tucked Angel in and I acted like I didn't notice that he stopped reading the book for a moment just to see Max act like a mom to Angel, then, a ghost of a smile would appear on his un-readable face.

Fang, who was distant most of the time, but high fived me every time I grossed out the girls with one of my… 'skills'. He was practically my brother and now all that he is, is a memory.

I wouldn't cry, even if Fang was dead. Even if Max died with him. I tried not to think about it like that though.

**Nudge POV**

Screw being tough.

I don't care if you call me a wimp. Fang, my big brother, was _dead_. Gone. I'd never see him again.

All the memories, as brief as they were, like when we stayed at the home with the hawks when Angel was first taken by the whitecoats before everything got tough. Or when he said that we were eating possum and I almost hurled, but it was really beef shish kabobs. Little memories like that. Happy memories were just that. Memories. All in the past, because there would be no more memories with Fang in them.

And poor Max, if I was breaking down over this, she would be absolutely devastated. What if she died too? Then that would be two of my siblings…gone forever.

I curled up into a ball on the leather loveseat that I was sharing with Talon, ignoring the icky pet smell that was permanently stuck onto the couch. My face, which probably looked like a nightmare with the big ugly tear streaks and my hideous blotchy red nose, was thankfully hidden by my thick curly hair.

I muffled my sobs the best that I could, but Talon had heard me. Stupid ultra-bird-kid-hearing.

He pulled me closer to him, not bothering to say any reassuring words. I would have known that he was lying, but sometimes a sweet lie was better facing the bitter truth.

I peeked from behind my mass of hair to see how everyone else was coping with Fang's death.

Ella was crying into Iggy's shirt and he was holding her close. For Max's sister, she was much more emotional than Max herself. It must have had to do with their very different upbringings.

Iggy wasn't crying. His eyes looked pained and mournful.

Gazzy had his hand on Courage's knee as she wiped her tears away. Gazzy was staring at the floor with a blank expression, probably trying to escape.

I'm kind of glad that Angel wasn't there, because she'd already be ordering us around.

I desperately wished that the tiny bit of hope that I clung on to would just die. It was causing most of the depression. My foolish hope was that Fang would fight his way out of this situation or he would miraculously come back to life thanks to a crazy decision like he had always done before. I hoped that death had a loophole, and Fang would find it and use it.

But if Dr. M was crying, that could only mean one thing. Fang was really, really dead. She was the doctor. She knew when someone was dead.

Then, I heard the heavy thumping of heavy shoes. Combat boots, to be exact. The only other person who whore combat boots other than Fang was Max. (Gazzy's had been melted and burned into ashes, but that's a different story.)

Max.

I immediately stopped crying and my body went rigid. Oh God. This was going to be horrible. Ella looked at the doorway mournfully, as if Max was just a sad memory.

Max walked into the room.

I carefully avoided her curious eyes, but I felt them glance at me. She saw the whole scene.

"No." I heard her say, the sudden noise echoing off the walls.

"No, no…" she said in a quieter tone, as if trying to wake from a very bad dream. She didn't quite believe the situation.

"NO!" She shouted and her despairing tone tore my heart up. I started crying again, this time quietly.

Max sprinted down the hall. I heard her loud footsteps run down the hall, and then squeal to a stop. It was deafeningly quiet. The Flock wanted to know how Max would really react.

For once, I didn't feel the need to break the silence with my usual ramblings.

Then, I heard a really loud crash. An all too familiar crash. One that I would only hear a lot if was raised by Max.

She had broken the door down. I looked at Iggy, who smiled for a second before falling back into his quiet depression.

It was once again, quiet.

I waited with the rest of the Flock. Waiting. For something. Some sort of noise.

Then, we heard it. I wanted to bury my head in a pile of sad like ostriches did in cartoons. Anything to block out that horrible noise.

Max, poor poor Max. She was sobbing.

"Fang!" I heard her say in a choked up voice. "Come back! Come back!" she cried.

**Max POV**

My hands were shaking, from rage or fear or depression, I couldn't really tell. I think anger won over, because I kicked the door down.

Yes, I, Maximum Ride, kicked the hospital door in like an SWAT team leader. In a way, I kind of was.

I looked at my mom's tear streaked, grief stricken face. My eyes immediately darted over to Fang. His heart rate machine was beeping an ear piercing, long, unending, terrifying beep.

No, no. No. Fang wasn't dead. Not again. I was SO SICK of this life-death rollercoaster that I was living on constantly. Ironically, my name is Maximum Ride, and right now, I was so sick of the 'ride' that I could barf for hours, and scream, "Get me off this rat-trap!"

Most teenage girls got sick of boyfriends cheating on them and getting dumped. Not me, god forbid that any part of my life should resemble normality. No, I worried that I or my boyfriend wouldn't live to see the sun come up the next day. Now I was so, so terrified that Fang would never get to hear my real answer to his question.

I sprinted over to him.

"Mom, why?" I asked softly, hoping that she didn't hear the emotional breaks in my voice.

"He wanted the chip out. He said that it was either surgery or he'd… he'd get himself killed." Mom said softly.

"He said that if he didn't make it, he wanted to tell you something." My mom said a little quieter than before.

I lay on the cold operating table, laying my head on his chest, his eyes closed.

My mother took this silence as a sign to keep talking.

"He said that he was sorry, the Flock is more important than you're relationship with him." My mom said. She sniffed and hastily left the room.

I wished with everything that I had, which isn't much, but it's the thought that matters, that Fang was only sleeping, that he'd open his beautiful eyes. He would automatically glance around to observe the surroundings for potential enemies. Then, he'd look at me. His dark eyes would soften, and he'd pull me closer to him. "Good morning, sweetheart." He'd say, sometimes. Other times, the silence and the passion filled, intense gazes that were focused on each other were just as perfect. I'd kiss him softly…

"Fang, come back!" I croaked. "Come back!" I cried, but no tears fell. I was just making those loud crying noises.

I was choking on dry sobs, my throat swollen with unshed tears and mournful cries that I wouldn't let out. I laid my head on Fang's chest, too agonized to make a sound other than the pitiful choking noises that I was making.

I completely had zoned the long beep of the heart rate machine out and could only hear what was going on in my head.

_Fang, why why why why why? Why did you have to do this? Why did you go? _ I thought numbly.

My ear was against Fang's bare chest. Normally, I would have been happy with that, but I was too heartbroken to feel anything but the numbing pain of losing Fang, my partner-in- crime, my best friend, my wing-man, my boyfriend, my soul mate, the only one who understands me almost better than I do, the one who's been there for me every second of every day, even before we could speak English back in the School. He was the one who helped me take care of the Flock when Jeb first disappeared, he fed and changed baby Angel's diaper at the early, early morning hours when I was so, so, tired.

_Thump._

I stopped breathing, my pain-numbed brain whizzing at a hundred miles an hour, trying to analyze the situation.

_Thump. Thump. Thump._

Nope, it isn't the door. I kicked it down, trying to get in.

_Thump, Thump._

Please, please, if it's Erasers, let them kill me now. I don't want to take forever when I die. I just want to die quickly. I won't even fight. I just want to escape this annoying skull numbing pain.

_Thump, Thump. Thump, Thump. Thump, Thump. _

It sounded like an awfully familiar tune. Maybe Nudge or Ella was playing the radio, trying to cheer everyone up with a peppy, corny pop song. This was familiar... too familiar.

Now my brain was sluggish, moving at the rate of molasses that is slowly freezing into a solid form.

Thump, Thump.

The thought finally slammed into me like a train going. Heartbeat. Not my heartbeat, either. My heart was racing, as I pressed my ear harder against Fang's bare chest.

The thumping became clearer. Oh. My. God.

That's impossible… wait, am I dead? I just have to be dead, because there is no flipping way that Fang's heart can be beating and that freaking beep from the heart rate thingy to be going off.

I was dead. Or dreaming, or… something.

Fang's dark eyes flickered open and his eyes darted around the room, observing the surroundings. Then, he looked at me. There was silence except for that god-awful beeping noise that the stupid machine was making.

My eyes had to be playing tricks on me. But I loved it.

"Morning, sweetheart." He said.

I couldn't help it. Like a big softie, I fell into his arms and blubbered like a baby. Fang pulled me even closer and I cried harder.

"Max, I'm fine." I couldn't pull myself together. Not even to say that I was sorry. Or that I would marry him. I wanted to right then. I wanted to spend the rest of my life with him. Forever and ever.

I just cried and cried and cried some more. Fang pulled me close and I felt like the sappiest and most vulnerable weenie on the planet. But Fang being alive made up for all of that.

**I wanted to write more, but I didn't have time. Don't worry, I'll update on Friday, like usual. IF I GET SOME REVIEWS! Thank you 100X for reading!**


	11. Yes

**HI! Thank. You. So. MUCH! I had so many reviews… it was wonderful! Thank you guys! Thank you so much. There will be so much sweet Fax that it will give you cavities! : ) Well, anyways, enjoy the chapter!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Maximum Ride. Never did. So don't count on it. **

**Chapter 11**

**Fang POV **

I've never seen Max so upset before. Sure, I've seen her cry, a few times, but never like this.

She held on to me fiercely, like she was afraid that I'd dissapear if she loosened her grip. I wasn't going anywhere, but I'd scared her.

The machiene that was supposed to read my heart rate continued it's long, mournful beep.

Max was still crying and I was rubbing circles on to her back right between her wings, not sure of what else I should do. I don't exactly have experience to how to deal with Max when she won't stop crying. That situation really hasn't come up before.

"Max," I said after a while. She looked up at me, her big, beautiful brown eyes filled with tears, and I felt crushed. _I_ had made her feel like this. Once again, it was _my_ fault that she was hurting.

"Listen." I said as I gently pulled her closer and closer until her head was leaning against my chest. I wanted her to hear my heartbeat, I wanted to show her that I was alive. Her tears felt hot against my skin.

"I'm not dead. I could never leave you. Not like that." I said. I've never said anything more true than that. She looked up at me, and I wondered what she'd do.

She kissed me. Softly. My vision fizzed out and all that I could think, feel, touch, smell, taste, or breathe in was Max….Max.

After a while of that and a few short, teasing, softer kisses, I look deep into her eyes. She quickly looked down, her long, tangled brown-blond hair concealing her face. Her hair didn't hide the tears that started to drip down off of her face.

I tilted her head up to look at me, wondering what I did wrong. I just hoped that she wasn't mad at me.

I hated, hated, _hated_ it when we fought. Especially the bad fights, like the one we had not too long ago.

Max, my tough-as-nails, I'll-kick-your-butt-if-you-get-out-of-line Max was gone and replaced by something fragile; I was afraid to touch her because she might shatter into pieces.

"I was afraid that I'd never get to kiss you again. I can't lose you Fang. I need you, heck, I love you." She said, still being very un-Max like.

"I can't promise that, Max. With the lives that we live, I can never promise that I won't die. I wish that I could, I wish that we'd never be in danger again." I said. I sighed. So far, so good. No loud interruption from Max.

"I understand why you don't want to get married. Heck, I don't blame you." I said Max looked at me. Yep, the regular Max was back. She was staring at me in her usual defiance.

"You're wrong. I do want to marry you." She said and my heart skipped a few beats. "yeah, life's tough. It always has been and that will never change. There will always be problems. Always. Life is tough, but we're tougher. I just temporarily forgot that." She said.

I couldn't help it, I grinned. I was too happy for words. Max grinned right back and I hugged her fiercely.

I reached into my pocket for the ring and pulled it out. Max's eyes shone. She looked like a kid in an all you-can-eat dessert buffet. I slipped the ring on her finger. It looked perfect, just like I knew it would.

Max admired it and then looked at me with suspicion in her eyes.

"You didn't steal it, did you?" she asked angrily. I smirked.

"No, as easy as that would have been, I actually bought it…with money… that we earned." I said. Max still looked a little suspisious, but whatever.

"It's beautiful." Max said finally.

"Yes, you are." I said, temporarily borrowing that line from some movie that Nudge was watching the last time that we were at a hotel. She smiled at me and hugged me. I could get used to this. I breathed in her familiar secnt of the outdoors and the clear, open air.

Max, my fiancé, my almost wife… Max. Wife. Part of me was still shouting, 'You're sixteen for god's sake! You're getting married!' another part, that was arguing with the fisrt part, said ' You don't know how long that you or she will live. You only find love like that once. Especially when you're a bird kid.'

I was listening to the second voice. I was afraid of getting married, even I'll admit, but I've never been more sure about anything else before in my entire life, however short or long that would be. I'd probably end up with the short life but hey, I'd be a short life well lived because I'd be with Max… forever.

**I'm sorry! I broke my own rule. It's not at least 1000 words, but I SWEAR that I will update tomorrow too! I'm just soooo tired! Please forgive me. Hey, it was stuffed with fax and the next one will be too! REVIEW! If you don't, you can forget about that update…**


	12. Wedding

**I officially give you permission to kill me. I lied, *sob* I didn't update on Saturday, because I was 'surprised' and went away for the weekend. Then I had to study for these dreadful things called Exams. Maybe you've heard of the little devils. I really couldn't update, but I'm so, so sorry! This chappie will be full of Fax, if that makes up for anything!**

**Disclaimer: If I owned Maximum Ride, do you really think that I would be here? Yeah, probably, but still…**

**Ch. 12**

**Max POV**

I could sit here right next to Fang forever; admiring my ring, loving Fang, and planning our amazing, action packed future together.

But, me being, well, _me, _nothing could ever be peaceful for long.

I saw six heads of various bird kids peek around the doorframe, since there was no door left.

It only took a second or them to realize that Fang was not dead.

It took Nudge and Ella a whole other second to realize that I had a pretty diamond engagement ring on my finger. They squealed, and ran forward, ordering me to spill the details.

As I was doing that, which was trying to make the whole part where I cried seem like less of a big deal than it actually was, I glanced over at Fang to see what he was doing.

He still had his arm around my waist, which I would never get tired of. Iggy grinned at him and bumped fists with him.

I took in this revelation silently. So Iggy knew that Fang was going to propose to me? This whole time?

Gazzy smiled, but looked distant. I wondered what was on his mind. I would ask him later. He smiled at Fang, and Fang messed up Gazzy's already unkempt hair.

Nudge and Ella peppered me with questions.

"When is the wedding going to be?"

What colors will the theme be? I think silver and gold would be great, I also…"

"What? Silver and gold? Are you crazy? The colors should be a white with light purple accents."

"Ok, fine. No silver and gold. But what about black and white. Classic. But purple… Nah."

"Black and white? Those aren't even colors! Black is for, like, funerals!"

The rest of their conversation continued very similarly to this. Them fighting which colors my wedding theme should be. I don't want to be the next bridezilla or anything, but it was my wedding. I say screw the 'theme' let's say "I do" and get hitched.

Heck, since it's my wedding, I say let's just have it casual. I'll be in a pair of jeans and I'll even wear a new t-shirt…that's clean. No dresses… especially big white ones that cost more than the amount of food the Flock eats in a few months. That's a lot of food, just saying.

Anyways, Iggy was talking to Fang about some bachelor party ideas that he saw on a movie, which by the way, would so not be happening, when Fang turned his head to look at me. He grinned in a way that only Fang can grin and I couldn't see or think about anyone else.

What was with all of this smiling from him, lately?

Nudge abruptly ended my pleasant thoughts with another question.

"So, Max, how many kids do you want to have? Five? Six? Oh, maybe nineteen, like this family I saw on TV! You could have your own reality show! Max and Fang plus nineteen little winged babies! Oh, that would be a _hit_!" Nudge babbled. This wasn't just chatter though. I could see the suggestive, humorous glint in her eye.

My gaze shot over to Fang, who had better look somewhat embarrassed, or I was gonna kick his butt.

He did. Did I mention how much I loved him? I did? Whatever.

Iggy and Gazzy, however, twitched their eyebrows up and down suggestively. Before I could whack them, Ella and Courage beat me to it and slapped their guys on the back of their heads.

Ella and Nudge chattered on how cute the babies would look and what color hair, eyes, wings, etc., that the babies would have.

I felt sick. The room started to spin and I started to panic. I was sixteen years old! I still had to save the world and take down the School and all of its supporters! I couldn't do that when I had to worry about a baby too!

Fang looked at me quizzically.

"Hey, Max. You don't look good. Just don't worry about what hasn't happened jet. Don't listen to them; we will save the world first. Save the babies for later when we can relax. When we can raise them right; hopefully in some place tropical." Fang said.

I looked at him, oozing gratefulness. He really knew what to say and when to say it. That is, as long as he meant it.

Then, my mother walked into the room. She looked at the scene and dropped the box of materials that she was carrying. There was a crashing sound and the Flock's heads swiveled over to the source of the noise.

"Oh, Fang! You're alive!" My mother almost squealed, but managed to restrain herself. She scurried over and hugged Fang. The Flock looked a slack jawed. No one hugged Fang except for me, and that was on special occasions.

Mom looked around, sheepish.

"Uh, sorry. I just thought…" She stuttered. Then she looked at my hand with the little ring. She smiled. Wait…

She knew? She knew that he was going to pop the question this whole time and wouldn't tell me? What else did everyone know and I didn't?

I waited for my mom to argue that I was only sixteen. I waited for her to say that she disapproved of us getting married because we were way too young and too in-danger all the time. She didn't.

Instead, she smiled serenely and spoke kindly.

"Hey guys, could you go back into the waiting room for a while? I need to talk to Max and Fang for a while. It won't take long. Then we can go and get some junk food. Sound good?" she said. I loved my mom. She knew what to say to win the Flock over. They nodded and left the room chattering away.

Gazzy whispered something into Talon's ear. He snickered.

"They're gonna get 'the talk' now." Iggy said in an exaggerated whisper.

Fang and I both shot daggers at the lingering guys in the doorway. My glare alone is Scary. Fang's is even worse. No one, I repeat, _no one_, is any match for our combined scowls.

My mom herded them out and tried to shut the door, then instantly remembered that I had knocked it down.

Now she glared at me. I shrugged as if to say '_hey, don't blame me. The door was locked. How else am I supposed to get in?_'

She rolled her eyes. Fang smirked at me as if to say, '_now I know where you get your winning attitude_.'

I shot him a look back that said '_darn right._'

Ah, don't you love silent conversations between two fiancés? Man that word was going to take some getting used to.

My mom quickly glanced into the hall to make sure that no one was eavesdropping.

"Max, Fang, I know I don't have to tell you two the effects of your choice to get married. Even if you two are… sixteen, you definitely aren't normal sixteen year olds" Well, that was the understatement of the century.

"What I'm trying to say is that you two are more responsible than most of the adults I know. I know that you two look out and protect each other and are practically already married." Emphasis on the 'practically' part.

We haven't taken our relationship _that_ far yet. I mean, sometimes we've had to stop ourselves, but we're usually interrupted by some kind of Flock drama anyways. We have like, zero to barely any time with just the two of us, with the Flock there and all. I love the Flock, I really, really do, but I still crave time alone with Fang and I never seem to get any until recently.

"You two can take good care of yourselves and each other without any help. I completely understand. Just, be careful not to forget the Flock." I knew where she was coming from. I knew it was going to be hard to juggle marriage and leading and saving the world, but I could, because I was Maximum Ride, and with Fang at my side, nothing could stop me.

"If you ever need anything, you know where I'll be." She finished. I appreciated the offer, but we had to keep moving to different places. We'll still visit, definitely, but we couldn't leech off my mom like that.

I nodded and Fang squeezed my hand.

I was never so sure of anything in my life. I was going to marry Fang, sixteen or not.

I can't do this.

I can't do this.

First of all, this was not how I wanted my wedding to be. I was fine with jeans, nice, clean clothes and getting married in our backyard. Heck, we didn't even need a real minister. As long as I was with Fang, that was fine.

But no. Nothing was ever that easy. No, Nudge and Ella AND my mother all insisted that since Total and Akilla got married in a real in a church with a minister, I would too. And it had to be _formal_. Formal! All because a stupid talking dog had to have everyone dress up all snooty and prissy, didn't mean that I wanted too. Of course, I didn't have a choice. It's not like it was _my_ wedding.

So here I was, Nudge dragging me through the big doors of a small church just down the road from my mom's house… in a white dress. Is there anything wrong with this picture? Do I have wings? Duh. Speaking of wings, mine were constricted tightly against my back. If violence broke out, I was so screwed.

A white veil covered my face, which was unrecognizable under the coat of makeup courtesy of Nudge and Ella. I teetered on my heels, which were a whopping inch and a half off the ground. The dress, which was my mother's, was tinkered with so it would fit my tall, thin frame.

I felt so out of place. This was very unnecessary.

Nudge told me something but I was too busy gripping the stems of my bouquet, that I almost snapped the flowers in half. The door behind me opened and if it was one more person in a formal getup, I was gonna scream. I turned around.

Okay, I didn't scream, I growled. Maybe a little bit of hissing was involved. I really don't know, my vision was tinged with a hateful shade of red.

It was none other than the phony clone-y himself, Dylan.

"What do you want?" I snarled, probably looking very intimidating in my glossy white dress. He smirked, I sight that made the pit of my stomach burn with hatred.

Traitor. Liar. Murder. Deceiver. He was all of the above and a heck of a lot worse.

"Nothing, I just came to see if it could be true, _my_ little Maxi is all grown up and getting herself hitched… to that mistake Fang even. Two screwballs, one wedding, one heck of a couple." Dylan sneered with enough malice to… well, tick me off.

"Get out! This is an invitation only event and _you're_ not invited. Not like you'd know anything about love! No one is stupid enough to love _you_." I hissed through clenched teeth.

"You did, as I remember. Or do you need me to refresh your memory?" Dylan said. In a blur, he was kissing me. Kissing _me_. On My freaking wedding day. No, this was not happening. I don't know what sick, twisted game his psyco mother and he were playing, but this chess piece was out of the game.

I brutally shoved him in the chest with all of the bottled up emotions of anger, hate, and more hate. He stumbled backwards. He grinned at me. That little rat actually grinned at me. I punched him square in the face. I heard a satisfying crack as his nose broke.

He stumbled to the ground like the little weenie that he was.

"You, think that this is all just gonna end smoothly, but it isn't! Oh, your problems have only just begun, Maximum. My mother and I will make sure of that!" Dylan growled.

"I'll get you, my pretty, and your little mom too!" I said flatly as I stomped on his fingers for good measure.

It looked like it hurt. Good, these heels could really do some damage. Let's just hope that I don't come crashing down when I have to walk up the aisle.

Dylan spit on my dress. Disgusted, I kicked the side of his face as hard as these cursed unstable shoes would allow. He grunted and with one dirtier look, he fled out the door like a scalded dog.

"This isn't over!" He shouted before the big doors closed, shutting him out. Just in case, I locked him out.

Then, I heard the mournful keening of the organ playing the wedding march. This was my cue. This was so freaking cliché.

The doors to the inner part of the church opened up, and I glanced around the audience. Total, Akilla, quite a few CSM members, the crew of the Wendy K from our trip to Antarctica were there, no Brigid. I smiled. The red-haired wonder was not here to crash my wedding. Maybe this could be okay after all.

I saw Jeb and felt mixed emotions. I never knew where his loyalties lie, and I probably never will truly know. When it came to him, the truth was more tangled than Nudge's curly brown hair after we survived that hurricane in Miami about a year ago. He seemed so sincere when he gave Fang and me that disk when we were escaping from the School, also about a year ago. No sense in giving myself a migraine. I was about to get married to one anyways.

I smirked. Fang could sometimes be a pain, but he was my best friend, my almost –husband, and I love him. I don't think that I should tell him about the Dylan incident. He'd just want us to leave and for once in my life I wanted to have a day for us, Fang and me.

I took the final step up the aisle and temporarily got lost in Fang's deep, dark eyes. They were emotionless like usual, but so mysterious, wonderful and made my heart beat quickly in a strange but good emotion, one that I couldn't really name.

I'd only seen him in a tux once, and I thought that it was the best day of my life… right before it turned into the worst day of my life. He left me that day, and I felt so cold, lonely, and shattered. I just remembered how terrible and empty I felt that day, and I hoped that today wouldn't be a repeat of that.

No, today would be good, I just knew it. Then how come I didn't really believe it?

Fang took my hand and put the ring on it. Hey, who knows, could, like, poison the tip or something and kill someone with one punch. I'm just kidding… mostly.

Fang smirked slightly, as if he had read my mind. With that new power of his, he could be. After all, he did brush by Angel in the hallway yesterday; he could have 'borrowed' her powers. Or maybe he was just being Fang and read my mind in the I-know-you-too-well kind of way.

After the little clichéd I do's, I expected ninjas, or robots, or clones or Erasers to burst through the solid oak doors or come crashing through the stained glass windows of the nativity scene and other church stuff. I expected the wedding to officially erupt into violence.

To my surprise, Fang and I kissed, I couldn't think about a thing other than "I am married… to Fang".

No violence. No screams. Angel just stared daggers at Fang and me but I didn't care. We ran through the doorway and outside to the fresh open air.

There was no limo or horse drawn carriage, or even a beat up Mustang with tin cans tied to the back. We were bird kids after all and decided to make a more… original exit. Fang slid his tuxedo jacket off and spread his wings out through the slits that he had obviously cut out when no one was looking.

Everyone in the church looked at us in wonder. Well, the humans, except for mom and Jeb were, of course. One woman from the Wendy K group muffled her gasp as I slightly ripped the edge of my dress to let my wings expand. We ran and flew of as I tried not to think that some people were looking up my dress. It was okay, because I was smart enough to wear them if fighting randomly broke out, but still…

I told my mom that since she was making me have an actual wedding, I would totally not go and have a reception party thing. In case you didn't know, weddings cost a ridiculous amount of money. Like crazy. Even the wedding cakes cost like, five thousand dollars. I was perfectly happy with my mom's cookie cake. Anyways, I didn't want a party.

So Fang and I flew straight until we reached the place that we wanted to be. See, we didn't really plan a honeymoon spot. I'm more of a snap decision kind of person anyways, so it worked for me. We ended up stopping at a beach in California. More specifically, a hotel by the beach in California.

We rented a room and… well, I'm not going into details. My lips are sealed.

**Well, that was shorter than I'd hope that it was going to be. And, I'm too lazy to rephrase that sentence o NO stupid 'that's what she said jokes' or I you will die a slow death courtesy of acid spraying armadillos! **

**Please forgive me for mistakes and the tardiness and give me some reviews! I might have toad a chapter or two more than planned for the ending of the story to make any sense… well, REVIEW!**


	13. Shocking

**Hi! Just wanted to thank all of you for these amazing reviews! You guys are AWESOME!**

**Disclaimer: I own Maximum Ride. NOT!**

**Chapter 13 **

**Max POV**

Maybe this marriage thing wasn't so bad after all. Falling asleep to the sound of his breathing, our hearts breathing so fast that they beat as one, waking up to see him there with his arm around me, It would never get old.

We walked down the beach for a while, an incoming wave crashed down on me and Fang tried to hide his laughing. I glared at him and chased him halfway down the beach before I caught him and dragged him into the frigid blue water.

He glared at me, with his long black hair plastered to his face. There was a bit of seaweed on the top of his head and I couldn't help but laugh.

Suddenly, his eyes took an all too familiar mischievous glint, one that I knew well enough from us growing up together to know that he had an evil plan and was about to pull some sort of joke or trick on me.

I frantically tried to get away, but the water didn't let me go very fast. Fang tackled me and I glared at him loathingly as he dragged me down.

I halfheartedly tried to struggle against him as he swam further and further away from the shore, but I knew but would never admit that I couldn't escape from Fang's tight grip unless he wanted me to. He pulled me farther down and the water got colder. My lungs screamed for air, but Fang wouldn't let me go.

I had to let the last bubbles of air escape from my lips.

Fang looked at me funny. I felt stupid as I watched him inhale the water and bubbles come out of his nose.

Oh. I forgot that we had gills.

I swallowed the water and let the filtered air bubbles come out of my nose. I looked at Fang who rolled his eyes. I smacked him on the side of the head, making his black hair swish even more in the water. It kind of looked like black seaweed, swaying with the tide.

Fang smirked and I knew that the 'smack' hadn't hurt a bit. It was underwater after all; everything seemed to happen in slow motion.

Even through the strange, flickering blue lighting, I could see Fang's dark, intense eyes.

I leaned closer to him and then I think we share one of the world's only underwater kisses. It's really weird if you really think about it but 1) we're human-bird hybrids, so absolutely nothing in our lives is normal, and 2) don't diss it until you've tried it. Warning, it requires gills.

Anyways, I could've spent forever down at the bottom of the pacific with Fang, but the sharks looming in the shadows kind of threatened our chances. We swam back to shore; luckily, the sharks were in the mood for seafood and not poultry (aka, us).

We crawled on the rough sandy shore and watched the sun set into many exotic shades of red and brilliant hues of gold. What can I say, I'm feeling poetic.

Fang wrapped his arm around me and we watched the stars emerge. I couldn't suppress the heart-swelling feeling that came from knowing that no matter what Fang and I would be together, forever, always, and I'd never have to be alone again.

**Ella POV**

I estimated that Max and Fang would be gone for roughly a week. That gave Iggy plenty of time to ask me right? Nope.

The Flock was relatively easier to take care of since they 'paired off'. You know, everyone in the Flock has someone that they… how should I put this? Favors, that's the word that I'm looking for. Everyone in the Flock has someone that they 'favor' and they basically stick mostly around that person and they take care of each other.

Don't get me wrong, we're still a Flock, we still stick together, like Flocks are supposed to. It's just that there are different pairs. Sorry if I'm confusing you. Here, let me give you some examples that I'm looking at right now.

Gazzy and Courage are the young, budding romance in the Flock. They are currently sitting on the floor and working on some sort of fire bomb, if I remember correctly. As they are quietly working, one occasionally glances up at the other. As soon as the other bird-kid realizes that they are being stared at, they look up to meet the other person's gaze. Their eyes meet then their eyes quickly dart back to their explosive art project.

At one point, Courage asks Gazzy if she wired the inner-something right and Gazzy moves closer to her so that they are only inches apart. Gazzy reaches over and disconnects a few things. He then reaches over and guides her handover to the correct wires and helps her connect them. They then meet eyes at their close range and they freeze like that for a second. Gazzy's light blue eyes meet with Courage's deep forest green ones.

I need some popcorn, this is getting good. I half expected to see the two lean closer and closer until their lips met like I'd seen so many times before, except with different couples. I lounged back in a kitchen chair behind the island where I could get a great view of the action in the living room and still keep an eye on the rest of the Flock.

Anyways, Courage turned her head away from Gazzy and tried to concentrate on the bomb that she was constructing.

Gazzy looked confused for a second then shrugged and worked on his bomb.

I sipped some of the lemonade that Iggy had made, and it was darn good. I looked at Iggy, who was making many, many quesadillas. Iggy heaped the cheese on to the tortillia than masterfully folded it over and closed the top of the quesadilla maker.

He somehow sensed me watching him and looked up at me. He grinned. My heart fluttered and I smiled back. Then I heard Gazzy yell "Duck!"

In less than a second, Iggy had leaped ovr the counter and we tumbled to where he was shielding me from… the living room?

In a moment, I remembered that when Gazzy says duck, You'd better prepare yourself for an explosion pretty darn quick. I hugged Iggy closer, praying that if we die, that it would be fast.

I peeked over Iggy's shoulder to see that Gazzy had shielded Courage in the same way that Iggy had; which was making sure that he got the worst of the damage while his body shielded her.

_Aww, how sweet and romantic!_ I thought giddily. I took advantage of the close proximity between Iggy, and I and lightly brushed his lips with my own. Hey, if we were about to die, I might as well have some good last moments.

After a few moments of that, I wondered why we hadn't blown up yet. I once again glanced over Iggy's shoulder to see Gazzy lift his head up warily and look again at the bomb that was supposed to explode.

"False alarm!" He concluded. Iggy and I rolled our eyes in synch and smiled at each other. After Gazzy had thrown the 'faulty' bomb out the window, literally, he and Courage resumed assembling more bombs, which was a hobby that they did very often.

I moved back to my chair and Iggy hurdled over the counter of the island because his quesadilla was burning.

Nudge and Talon were walking down the stairs, chattering. It was kind of funny to hear them talk, Nudge talked in rapid fire American and Talon talked normally in a Brittish accent. It was kind of cute too. Nudge and Talon were our too cute couple in the Flock.

Max and Fang were the leader/ perfect couple, and Iggy and I were the smokin' hot couple. Yep.

That's about it…. Well, then there's total and Akilla, the furry couple. Akilla had a litter of puppies about a month ago and the puppies were still here, but already had suitable owners waiting for them to be old enough to be taken away from their mother.

A couple of puppies ran down the stairs, thank God that none of them could talk or fly. Hopefully, they'd stay that way. Total and Akilla followed them down the stairs.

They had the world's LONGEST honeymoon, which was two weeks! I hope that Fang and Max don't take that long of a honeymoon because I am sick of having to watch everything that the Flock is doing all day, every day.

I don't know how Max does it and remains somewhat sane. Hey, at least I don't have a Voice in my head! Yet…

Lastly, Angel came down the stairs, practically bringing the tension with her. Her eyes, which used to be so much like her brother's, were dark and ice cold.

Angel, the lone wolf, the only solo member of the Flock. She didn't have someone to talk to. She didn't have a partner in crime. Heck, she didn't even have a friend in the Flock.

Even Total, _her_ dog had found someone else. He was too busy with Akilla and the puppies to talk or pay any attention to the girl who had saved him from the Institute in the first place.

I bet you're wondering how I know all of this stuff about the Flock's past, well, Iggy filled me in. I've never been in the School, but I know from the vivid descriptions that Iggy gave me that I never want to be. And he didn't even see it for very long!

Anyways, back to the touchy subject of Angel. Angel needs to find someone. Soon, or we'll all regret it.

"Lunch! Come on guys! Lunch is ready!" Iggy shouted. I grinned at the thought of Iggy's delicious quesadillas. I sprinted around the kitchen island and to the huge plate heaping with steaming quesadillas. They looked absolutely delicious with the creamy cheese oozing out the sides, I was practically drooling. I snatched the biggest one.

This action alone would have appalled me before I got my wings. I would have picked the smallest one and eaten half of it to maintain a slim figure. Now, I pig out like a starving… bird-kid.

Anyways, I grabbed that one and three more. Then I heard the running footsteps of the other Flock members too. I grabbed a cup and filled it with water from the sink just in time to see the rest of the Flock stampede into the kitchen.

There was loud bickering for a few minutes over who got what quesadilla. I sat down at the table and started eating. This could take a while. Iggy was smart enough to grab his plate _before_ he called the rest of the Flock in. He sat next to me and we scarfed down the quesadillas like starving wolves.

Suddenly, the sound of bickering was overwhelmed with a loud crash.

"I swear, If Gazzy knocked the dishes down while trying to get seconds, I'm gonna…" Iggy growled.

Then, the sound of bickering was drowned out by a loud crash. Then there was yelling and more crashing and the sound of dulled punches and kicks. I was already afraid, but what happened next scared me even more.

A spine chilling howl rang through the air.

Erasers.

Iggy gave me a look that seemed almost… sad. Like he'd never see me again. Before I could do anything, he bolted out of the chair and sped into the kitchen.

I got up and went after him. Oh no, he was so not gonna fight without me.

I turned the corner and peered into the kitchen. Erasers were everywhere and the kitchen was a disaster. My mom was going to go into cardiac arrest when she saw the mess. Right now, my mother's wrath was the least of my problems.

Courage was on the ground unconscious and Gazzy was furiously fighting two Erasers at once. Nudge was courageously fighting one Eraser and Talon was on the back of anther, trying to tear its throat out with his retractable claws. If you haven't figured it out yet, that's why we call him Talon.

Angel was doing something that I would definitely call strange. She was calmly eating a quesadilla while pointing at random Erasers. The Eraser that she pointed to would look confused for a moment, and then fall into a furry, smelly dazed heap.

One fell right next to me. It wasn't breathing or moving. It was dead. Oh my God, she could kill people with her mind! This was way to freaking scary for words.

Why Angel? Why not Iggy or me or Nudge or anyone. Why Angel, who was the mentally 'imbalanced' Flock member. The last thing that she needed was the power to instantly kill someone on a whim.

What if she got mad at Iggy or me? What if she was so ticked off with Max that Max would fall onto the floor as a stone cold corpse?

I was awakened from my terrifying visions when Iggy shoved me out of the way. I tumbled onto the ground to see him swing a ferocious kick to an Eraser's chest. The Eraser stumbled back a few feet, but bared its horrible white fangs at me and lunged at me, aiming for my throat.

In a flash, I kicked its head with both of my feet and heard a horrible loud snap, like a branch of wet wood being cracked in half.

The Eraser turned limp and its body slumped to the ground; his neck bent at a gruesome angle. It was dead.

I was trying to control my shaking limbs, but was having a hard time with it. I felt cold. Never, never had I killed anything before. Well, except for bugs, but those didn't count.

I stared at the Eraser's lifeless, half closed eyes and I started crying. I didn't care if it had tried to kill me. That Eraser was just another one of the School's cruel experiments. It was a victim just like Max or Fang or Iggy was.

Iggy looked down at me but then crouched down to help me up. I shakily grabbed his hand, trying to bottle the emotions the way that I'd seen Max do so many times.

"Hey, Ells, it's okay. There was nothing you could have done differently. Only one of you would have come out of it alive, and I'm glad that you did." Iggy said. He leaned down and pecked me on the lips, then returned to fighting off another Eraser that was attacking Nudge.

I jumped in and helped Gazzy defend Courage. We fought and fought; gaining injuries and steadily growing more and more weary. No matter how many Erasers we took down, more seemed to leap through the hole in the window and through the window in the living room as well.

One by one, I saw Nudge be overwhelmed in a sea of thick brown Eraser fur and her tired cries were drowned out the snarling Eraser growls.

Talon leapt after her and he too was lost to the Erasers, taking down as many as he could.

Poor Gazzy was next. Protecting Courage's unmoving form, he bared his teeth at the dozens of Erasers that crept closer. An Eraser grew inpatient and sprang at Gazzy. Gazzy lunged at the Eraser and tackled it. The rest of the Erasers piled on to Gazzy in a mountain of snapping teeth, sharp claws, and bloodthirsty mouths.

Iggy and I fought back to back and it kind of reminded me of the way that Max and Fang fought. I wished with every desperate fiber in my body that Max and Fang would burst in through the door, looking as bloodthirsty as ever, but they didn't.

Iggy gave an Eraser an uppercut only to receive a devastating left jab from an Eraser next to him.

"Iggy!" I shrieked as he went down.

I used some of the fighting style combinations that Max and Iggy had taught me, but I was no match for all of the brute strength and energy that the Erasers had.

I looked wildly around for Angel.

She was standing next to an Eraser, carefully observing her family being brutally beaten, maybe killed.

I was shocked. The Erasers weren't attacking her. In fact, she was giving them orders! Traitor! Liar! I knew that she was bad news! I knew it!

I was hit on the temple and slumped on the ground next to Iggy. The last thing that I saw was a cruel smile on Angel's face. To me, it looked like Angel's sardonic grin matched the grins of her Eraser friends.

"You should have let me lead." Angel said mockingly. I remember no more.

**Max POV**

Fang and I flew side by side, gently bumping into each other like we have done for as long as I can remember.

Fang emotionlessly glided over next to me and knocked his midnight wing against my wing. I wobbled in the air and skillfully regained my balance.

I smirked at him. He was gonna have to do better than that.

We were flying back to my mom's house. There, we'd pick up the Flock, and go somewhere we haven't gone before. Somewhere not very populated. Maybe we'd even go for Fang's original idea of moving to a desert island and starting a whole new life.

Frankly, I'm tired of looking for ways to 'save the world' I've done everything that I can. Besides, world-threatening problems have a knack for finding me. They can send me an invitation, and I'd gladly attend the demise of the world party. Then I'd do what I do best and crash it.

Don't get me wrong, I love my mom. But unless she moves which I doubt she will, she won't be safe with us around. The last place that Fang's chip tracked to was the animal hospital, and they'd track my mom down and hurt her in the process of capturing me. Besides, I hated to mooch off her anyways. It wasn't cheap to feed a Flock of bird-kids, no matter how cute and charming we were.

I saw in the corner of my eye Fang using his ability to disappear and he completely vanished into the very cloudy gray sky.

_Okay, he wants to play with his skills? Two can play at that game._ I thought as I jetted off at sonic speed. Hot before I felt Fang's calloused hand grab on to my ankle. Dang it.

My superfast speed made him loose grip and let go, but he'd be back.

He just absorbed my sonic speed power with his new skill that he was so proud of.

Sure enough, I zoomed for another five minutes or so and stopped above my mother's house and stopped to hear Fang's quiet laugh. I turn around and he appears out of nowhere, laughing.

Yeah, yeah, whatever.

"Whatever, we're home, let's get the kids and go somewhere, like that island we found while flying." I said. Fang nodded in approval.

"As long as there are plenty of rats to eat." He says flatly. I roll my eyes and dive.

I land as gracefully as a puma in the forest, glancing smugly at Fang who had yet to land.

He circled a few times like a vulture before gently descending and lands without missing a stride, as silent as a shadow.

It's his turn to look smug as he retracts his wings just enough to where he can fly off in a hurry if necessary.

"Show off." I say as I rang the doorbell. There isn't a sound, not even Akilla barking and Total pretending to be a normal dog and barking too. There isn't the skitter of the puppies claws on the tile floor. There weren't seven bird kids running to hug us and ask us how the honeymoon was. My mom wasn't even there to ask if we were alright and what the plan was.

It was as silent as a morgue.

Hating that analogy, I opened the door and braced myself for the worst. I sure as heck got it.

The place was a mess, even for bird kids. Couches were scratched and shredded with what looked suspiciously like claw marks.

Pillows were torn and there were holes in the walls the sizes of heads and fists. Lamps were crashed on the ground and random appliance parts littered the ground. There were black scorch marks on the walls from where Gazzy's bombs had blown up.

Mom was going to have a fit.

I looked at Fang to see how he was reacting to this catastrophe. His breathing was normal, but his body was tense and ready for a fight to break out.

I stayed on my toes, waiting for something to pop out and try to eat my face off. I motioned for Fang to follow me and he nodded tersely.

Our honeymoon full of carefree pleasure was over. Real life was back and better (or in our case worse) than ever.

I stepped over destroyed debris praying that somehow a tornado had gone crazy in the house.

I turned into the kitchen with Fang at my back, preparing for the fight of our lives. Instead, I got Angel crying next to a broken chair.

I let my guard town and I felt Fang loosen up behind me. Fang and I slowly walked toward her, like attempting to approach a timid deer.

"Angel, baby what's wrong?" I said. Fang and I knelt down beside her. He scooped her up and sat her on his lap like he did when she was very small.

"They're gone…" she sobbed. "To the School and… and…"

"What, sweetie, you can tell me." I said as I stroked my hand through her tangled blond hair.

"And… you're next." She giggled as she pulled something out of her skirt. Little warning sirens were going off in my head. Something was indeed, very wrong. I stood up and was about to get Fang and get out of there.

In the blink of an eye, Angel showed what she was holding to Fang and me. My eyes widened. It was a gun. Angel, my baby was going to be the one who killed me. Then she pointed it at me.

"Sweet dreams, Maxie" she said pleasantly as she pulled the trigger. There was no possible escape. Even for me. I would be dead before I took a step. I closed my eyes, waiting for the final blow.

Then a series of confusing noises caused me to open my eyes.

Angel was grinning like an Eraser and holding her gun. Fang was motionless on the floor.

No. Not Fang. We were only married for a week, for God's sake; there was no way that he was getting out of his vow that easy. I dove to the floor, not caring if Angel shot me.

The little traitor. I wish I'd left her at the School. I really, really wish that she'd be rotting in a dog crate; undergoing God knows what kind of torture. She deserved it.

_Fang, don't go._

I thought, keeping my emotions to myself. That little blond brat wouldn't get the satisfaction of seeing me suffer.

I turned him over to see where the wound was. There were no red splotches of blood. Heck, I couldn't even smell blood. This made like, absolutely no sense. Then I saw the small red feather on the tail of a dart sticking out of Fang's neck.

She was going to take us back to the School.

She shot me and a saw a blue feathered dart sticking out of my shoulder and Angel's giddy face before I passed out.

**Fang POV**

I woke up on a cold concrete floor. My head was pounding and my vision was foggy.

_This must be what a hangover feels like._ I thought groggily as I glanced around to see where I was.

Before my vision cleared, I sniffed the air.

It reeked of alcohol, cleaning supplies, and anesthetic. The School.

I rolled over and felt something unusual around my neck. Curious, I reached up to feel a metal collar-like thing fit snugly around my neck. Great, I hoped I wasn't some little rich brat's pet now.

I finally could see again and I looked around the dimly lit room. It was bare concrete, nothing special.

On the floor, Iggy, Nudge, Ella, Talon, Gazzy and Courage were all there, still asleep from the drug's effects.

Finally, lying by my side was Max.

Well, if we were going to be pets, at least Max was here with me. I stroked her hair waiting for her to wake up. I was gonna get us out of this.

We were all going to get free, and then live on that island that Max and I found while flying around on our honeymoon. It was a perfect island. No one lived on it, it was miles offshore and surrounded by at least half a mile of shallow rocks and reef. No boats could even come near it. There were plenty of tall trees to build houses in. Hey, why not, right?

There was even a freshwater spring where we could get plenty of freshwater and it was cold, but good for baths. In the middle of the island, there was even hot springs. It was the perfect place to live. It was the perfect place to raise a family. Just, you know, no Wal-Mart. Or cable. But we'd survive. We always do.

Then I felt Max tense as she woke up. She groggily looked up then looked at me. Her eyes were wide, but hard with determination. As long as she was breathing, we would get out of there. She rested her head on my shoulder as we waited for the rest of the Flock to wake up. Gazzy had somehow managed to get next to Courage with his arm wrapper around her.

Nudge and Talon were snuggled next to each other.

Iggy and Ella were close too, their hands intertwined.

"They're not kids anymore. They're grown up." Max said her voice cracking. I could see her mentally scolding herself for letting that bit of emotion slip out.

I wrapped my arm around her hunched shoulders.

"You're right. They're not kids anymore, but they weren't your kids to begin with. They grow up and have kids of their own. That's how life works." I said. She didn't say anything after that so I figured that she was thinking about what I said.

Slowly but surely, the rest of the Flock woke up.

Nudge and Talon looked a little embarrassed at their position, but were too worried about where they were to worry about whether or not their legs were hopelessly intertwined.

Gazzy and Courage looked… well, a lot embarrassed. Even in the crappy lighting, I could see that Gazzy's face was beet red and Courage's face was a strange shade of purple.

Iggy and Ella didn't look the least bit embarrassed, in fact, they moved closer. Ella was shaking but trying to hide it. I felt bad for her. She had never been in this place before and she shouldn't have had to be.

It was quiet in the room. The rest of the Flock was waiting to be killed but it was a heck of a lot better than what we knew that they would do.

Not only would they torture us, but Max and I knew what the whitecoats really wanted.

It was so disgusting that it made me want to puke my guts out. Then puke again.

While I was trying to get that wonderful image out of my head, the door opened and Angel, our own little demon, stepped into the room, collar free. She was accompanied by two burly Erasers. Now she had Eraser bodyguards. Like the Director and the rest of these sick sadistic cretins around here.

Ella glared at her, stood up, and looked like she was going to strangle Angel by her curly blond hair when Angel looked up at one of her pet Erasers and Ella fell to the ground, writing like she was being electrocuted.

Shock collars. Perfect, notice the sarcasm.

Angel smiled, as if we were safe and about to have a normal, average fun day. At this point, the chances of that were pretty slim.

"Hey guys, sorry about the temporary bad living conditions, but you won't be here that long. We didn't know when you'd wake up since the anesthesiologist who loaded the darts messed up. He was… disposed of. You were asleep for over a week. But you won't be here long." Angel said cheerfully.

"Besides, they don't really need you Courage or Gazzy or even Nudge and Talon. That is, not until later. You will be let free and I will lead you. I have a mission that I need to accomplish before we settle down. You all have your 'perfect mate' as the Director calls it. I do too, but I have to go and get him. I just need some help." Angel finished. The Flock looked confused. Especially Ella and Iggy. This was not going to end well.

"What are you talking about? How come they get to leave ad we don't?" Ella asked. Here we go.

Then Angel looked at Fag and me.

"They know." Angel said gesturing at Fang and me. The Flock all looked at Fang and me, looking confused, hurt and a little ticked.

They erupted into a chorus of voices, telling me off for not telling them what was going on. Then asking me what was going on.

Angel whistled really loudly and everyone looked at her.

"Let me explain. The Director only wants Fang, Max, Iggy and Ella because you are the only ones who can have babies. That's all that they really want." Angel said as casually as if she was talking about the weather or the stock market.

Now Iggy and Ella looked embarrassed. Iggy looked over at me and startled Max with a grin. He wiggled his eyebrows.

"Well, if we must." Iggy said with fake modesty. Ella slapped him. Hard. It sounded like it hurt. He winced, but lightly chuckled.

Leave it to Iggy to make a joke in this setting.

Angel rolled her eyes.

"Max and Fang have it easy though. They don't even have to do anything. Max already has a baby." Angel said.

I froze. Wha… what? No way. She was lying

"I'm not lying, Fang. Max is pregnant. I know. I can feel his consciousness right now." Angel said.

Whoa. Hold the freaking phone! This was not how I imagined this at all. Of course, nearly nothing went as planned in my life but still.

Max.

Was.

Pregnant.

No.

Way.

That made absolutely, completely, totally no sense at all. I could feel the Flock's eyes of astonishment boring holes through my skull bet I wasn't thinking about them.

Max. Was going to have… a baby…that was going to call me… daddy. That hit me like a freaking train. I was going to be a daddy.

Was I scared?

Heck, yeah.

Was I going to show it?

Nope.

Max was shaking slightly as she slowly pulled up her shirt. Sure enough, there was a small bump on her abdomen.

She looked at me. She wasn't crying, but her eyes gave it all away. She was terrified. I pulled her close and wrapped my arms around her. I was holding Max like I've always done. This time it felt different, because I knew that she was carrying a baby. Our baby.

I silently swore that the baby would never have to see the inside of the School. As long as I lived, our baby was never going to have to grow up like I had to.

"We're going to stay here until Max's baby comes, then Gazzy, Courage, Nudge, Talon and I will leave and you all… I'm sorry, but you'll have to stay a while longer. Then they will release you." Angel said.

A whitecoat opened the door behind Angel. He looked at her and she nodded.

"The whitecoats need Fang and Max for a few tests, and they are going to move us to better rooms." Angel said as more Erasers filed in.

Two grabbed my arms and I pulled away. I felt like I was frying as a bolt of electricity zapped through my system.

"I wouldn't do that Fang. Especially you, Max, you could lose the baby and die yourself." Angel chirped.

The Erasers grabbed me roughly and two separate Erasers grabbed Max. I was still struggling, but Max wasn't fighting back.

Our eyes met and I knew she didn't have a choice. She didn't want to lose the baby. When the Erasers dragged Max in a different direction that the one I was being dragged down, I fought.

"Max! Max! MAX!" I shouted. I fought desperately. They had to let me go. I had to be with her. I had to make sure that she was fine. "Let me go you freaking, sons of…" I yelled at the Erasers.

"It's all part of the test, Fang!" Angel shouted.

All I could do was watch hopelessly as Max was dragged down the hall.

"Fang! FANG! Please, I need him!" Max shouted. I've never heard her so vulnerable and so scared it filled my chest with ice and my heart constricted.

"Max! I'll come for you!" I yelled. As the Erasers dragged me down another corridor. I lost sight of the wide-eyed Flock and Max.

I hate, hate, _and hate_ Angel.

The Erasers dragged me into a somewhat larger room. The door was barred like a giant dog crate door. How ironic. I couldn't even fit my hand through the openings between the bars.

I glanced at the room next to mine. It looked exactly the same as mine, except the wall between the two rooms were three feet thick.

The Erasers shoved me in and slammed the door behind me. I glanced around the room looking for anything that I could use to escape. Two bunk-beds and four blankets. All white, of course. A door? I walked over to the door and opened it.

A broom closet? Nope, a bathroom. Just a sink, a mirror, a toilet, and a miniature shower. It reminded me of a cheap hotel. Well, except for the cage door.

Then, Iggy, Gazzy, and Talon were pitched in as well.

"This is going to be fun." Talon said flatly. He took the words right out of my mouth.

**Iggy POV**

I've been keeping track of the days since we got here and we've been her for an agonizing five months. The food is crappy and they obviously don't know as much about us as they claim to because they don't give us nearly enough food.

Worst of all, I don't get to see Ella.

This place has tortured Fang the most though.

Every day, in the caged room next to us, we hear footsteps come down the hall. The other room's door opens then closes. For a moment, it's quiet.

Then, the screaming comes. Max. It's Max who's screaming in the room next to us. IT's no recording either. Her screaming is too ear-piercingly real.

Before now, I've never heard Max scream like that.

Now I can only hear her as Fang paces across the front of the cage door thing. He hits it as hard as he can and the metal bars ring. He punches and kicks, searching for weak spots but to no avail.

His eyes, they're horrible to look at. The emotionless dude that used to be Fang is gone while they are torturing Max.

By just looking at his face, you'd say that he looks perfectly normal. But his eyes, they look half-crazy with fear, hate, longing, restlessness and helplessness.

I feel absolutely terrible for him. Heck, I am even scared for him. Max and their baby… he can't even see them. He only gets to hear them scream. I know what that's like. I've lived in the dark for years and have only recently seen again.

But I could always touch. Fang can't touch her.

Talon and Gazzy are morose and depressed. Their girlfriends are gone and they have to listen to Max, who is closer than a sister to them, scream till she's on the verge of death.

The screaming has finally stopped, and Fang and I both know that she's unconscious. He beats furiously against the doors and tries everything that he can to get a glimpse of Max. He can't even get that.

Fang slumps to the floor, his knuckles raw and bloody like thy always are after Max's screaming. He just stares off into nowhere. He hasn't said a single word since we've been in this jail cell.

All that I can say is that Max's baby had better come quick, or he/ she will never get to know their father. Fang can't take much more of this.

**Well, sorry if it seemed a little late, but look at the length of this thing! Well, the next chapter is the last chapter! The more reviews I get, the sooner that I will update!**


	14. Finale

**Hello! Thank you guys so much for your understanding and support! Sorry it took a week or so longer than planned, but I just felt like it wasn't a worthy ending to this story and to you guys until now. Thank you for all the reviews, even the death threats! This final chapter is to you guys followed this story and reviewed, even in the less-exciting chapters.**

**Oh, and if Max seems OOC, she's highly hormonal. I DID THAT ON PURPOSE! And later, Fang will seem a little OOC too, but if you look at the circumstance, he acts the way he's supposed to.**

**Disclaimer: I hope that you've figured out that I DO NOT own Maximum Ride by now!**

**Chapter 14**

**Max POV**

I woke up in a pain-induced haze. I attempted to get into a stable sitting position, but failed because I was so weak and my huge, pregnant tummy wouldn't allow that. No, instead black and black spots danced and flashed into my field of vision.

My stomach churned and I felt sick and nauseous. I barely managed to hobble into the bathroom and shut the door behind me before I barfed into the toilet. If that wasn't nasty enough, my stomach was long since empty and I was only puking bile at this point.

I was so miserable that I could have sat there and sobbed over the toilet seat for the rest of the day. That is, until the big Erasers dragged me out for my seemingly endless 'testing'.

I hobbled back to my cot and it groaned in protest to my weight. I put my head into my hands. The pain of yesterday's torture was finally catching up to me.

Every day, the sadistic whitecoats invented some new way to make me scream. One day, it was simply testing how much pain I could tolerate. Yesterday, they tested my adrenaline levels as I suffered through various levels of pain. Their method: razor sharp steak knives.

As the blades carelessly sliced though my flesh, I screamed, and couldn't stop.

Okay, just letting you know. I'm not going soft. At my normal state, I wouldn't let them have the satisfaction of bringing out any emotion out of me, besides anger. Now, I blamed the pregnancy to my weak reaction to pain. Everything seemed to hurt worse when I was pregnant.

I glanced warily at my arms. Anger red slashes where the cold blades had cut me covered my arms as well as my legs. Thin scabs covered my arms. I would heal them all the way with my healing power, but I was too weak to walk far, let alone heal something. Even attempting to heal the smallest cuts would result in disaster. I would definitely die. The process would suck what little energy I had and bang, no more Maximum Ride and child.

Sure enough, as I flexed my arm so I could lie down, the thin scabs cracked and blood poured out. Bird- kid healing could only do so much.

I lay down on the cot, wishing that someone would massage the small of my back. Ugh, my back hurt so much. Carrying this baby around all day was no picnic. I was going to need some serious trips to the chiropractor and a massage-person after I got out of here. Which I would. When the perfect opportunity aroused.

Lying flat on my back, my abdomen was so freaking big that I couldn't even see my feet. It had only been five months since we got pitched here and I looked like I was almost due.

Bored, I stared at the dim glowing industrial light on the ceiling as it methodically blinked every sixteen seconds.

I absentmindedly felt my stomach. The baby kicked the spot where my hand was. I winced. Yep, this definitely was my baby. He/ she kicked like a mule.

Nudge, Ella and Courage must've heard me at some point because they woke up and got off of their cots to come over to me.

Ella smiled tiredly. She was the one who should have been curled up in a miserable little ball. But no, she was the one who scraped some of her food on my rations plate when she thought I wasn't looking. She needed the food. I'd just throw it back up again. She, Courage, and Nudge needed the food. They looked like winged bags of bones.

Ella was the one who cheered us up. She had never been exposed to the School's cruelty and yet she tried to be optimistic. I was proud of her. She hugged me.

"I'm glad you're back." She said. Nudge and Courage bobbed their heads in agreement. Nudge didn't talk much at all these days.

Well anyways, I was glad that I was back too. Truthfully, I wouldn't mind dying right now. Escaping this madhouse was worth it. Even if it meant I'd never fly or see another day again.

But I had to look after the Flock. I had to get them out. They couldn't live like this. And there was the baby to think about too. I had to keep him/ her away from the whitecoats.

It was strange, especially for me, to love something so much even though I'd never met them before. This baby made me feel a different kind of love, like I don't know… motherly. It wasn't even how I loved the Flock. Maybe because this baby was mine. My flesh and blood, living inside of me. Mine and Fang's.

Fang. My heart beat agonizingly in my chest. I needed Fang with me. He was supposed to be here with me, comforting me, gently stroking my back between my wings the way I like it, holding my hair up when I vomit what little food I have in my stomach, whispering soothing things in my ear when I was thrown back into this prison cell, helping me decide baby names to help me forget where I was. He was supposed to be here warm by my side instead of that soul-crushing emptiness. He was supposed to be here when I felt the baby's first kick, but he wasn't. No matter how many people were in the room, heck, in the world I would always be cold and alone if Fang wasn't there.

Tear after self-pitied tear fell from my eyes. Stupid pregnancy hormones were screwing with my emotions. They took the box where I hid and locked all of my emotions away and hid it.

Ella and Nudge comforted me and Courage stood resolutely by the door, waiting to warn us if anyone approached our cell.

Then, Courage gave the signal and we sat in a stoic silence as we listened to footsteps walk down the polished hallway.

It was just the food guy, who threw the food in the little food slot and locked the slot again just as quickly.

"It's Eraser chow… again." Courage said flatly, as if she'd hoped for anything better.

Eraser chow was very unappetizing, and the thought of eating it made my stomach twist and I tasted bile in the back of my mouth. In our four small bowls, one for each of us was meat that looked like it was just hacked off the corpse, no one even bothered to wash the blood off of it. It wasn't cooked or anything, but I was silently glad that it was fresh and not rotten.

Nudge picked the bowls up in disgust and walked to the bathroom with them without a word.

She rinsed the blood off the meat and filled the bowls with fresh water from the sink. She plopped the meat into the bowls, one with more meat than the others.

Courage routinely grabbed the bowls and ole by one; she used her ability to control fire to heat bowls. Don't ask me how she created fire; she was as good at making fires out of nothing as Gazzy was good at making bombs out of Jell-O and fish hooks.

A little while later, the 'stew' was done. The meat was cooked well enough to eat. Nudge handed me the bowl that had the most meat in it. I started to argue but Ella cut me off.

"Max, I know. But you're not the only one who needs the meat. The baby needs food too and it can't be good at all for you to be eating what you're eating. I don't care if you throw it up later; at least some of it went to the baby." Ella said in a tone that meant 'don't argue'. I used that tone… a lot.

I grumbled in response as I ate the now cooked mystery meat. I tried not to think that I could be eating another bird kid. Eating another bird kid. I could be eating Gazzy or Iggy or Talon… or even Fang! Oh, God, I couldn't be eating Fang.

My stomach lurched as if I was on a boat in a storm. I felt queasy. Nudge must've seen me starting to get sick because she ran over.

"Oh, no you don't!" Nudge scolded me. "You are keeping that food down, Max! You are not going to starve, not while I'm here. Drink this, lie down and _relax_."

Nudge handed me a bowl of water and I drank it slowly, sip by sip. I slowly laid down. I looked over. Courage had already emptied her bowl and was licking the sides. Ella was doing the same thing.

"Wow, Max. You've really let yourself go since the last time that I saw you." sneered a horribly familiar voice. I lifted my head but didn't bother to get up.

Dylan, in designer jeans and a clean white t-shirt stood casually by the cage-like door.

"Like your new room? I said that you'd be better off in a dog crate, but they said that you wouldn't fit because you were so fat. I always thought that you were scrawny, shapeless, and perfect for a dog crate. I just had to see what the scientists were talking about." Dylan said. "I guess that they were right. I'd be hard to fit you in a barn."

Courage sneered back. Ella snarled. Nudge stuck her tongue out at Dylan. I just glared coldly at him.

"Speaking of dog crates, who let your mother out of hers? She was probably about to be put to sleep because nobody wants a bi…" I started, but was cut off by the sound of loud banging in the hallway.

Nudge, Courage, Ella and I were way too smart to give Dylan the satisfaction of us asking him a question that wasn't sarcastic, rude, or derogatory. So we waited a second. We got our answer.

The grunt that I knew so well, that it brought tears to my eyes rang through the hallway.

It was Fang. He was here! I could hear him! He was breaking us out! He was going to get us out; everything was going to be fine!

Much to my surprise, Dylan smiled. What was he up to?

"Hear that, Max? That's your little boyfriend about to be 'retired.' They don't need him anymore, now that they have you and the baby to experiment on. He was crazy anyways." I snarled like a feral… something at him.

"He's not my boyfriend, if you missed it we're _married_ and those twisted sick losers aren't going to touch my baby, I'll die before that happens! And Fang is saner that you and your psyco mother ever will be!" I hissed.

Just then, there were more footsteps.

The last person I expected to see showed up right in front of my door.

Dr. Gunther Hagen. The dude who killed Fang. Before I could fire off another sarcastic remark, I was once again surprised with another visitor. Dr. Roland Ter Borcht. Next came Brigid, naturally. Then Mr. Chu, who was really that lizard dude showed up with Omega the super-boy. Huh, I figured that he'd turn up to kill me one of these days. Max II came into view. Wonderful. It's like a freaking evil-family reunion. Then, last, but least came Dylan's dear mother, the Director.

Wow, it was a party… all for me. I was so flattered.

"Aw, you guys had a little evil psychopath reunion. How touching." I said flatly. Ella, Nudge and Courage giggled in the background.

They all stared at me with various levels of perplexity.

"What, fine. Is the School hosting the crackpot nutcase convention this year?" I said. More angry glares.

"Not quite." The Director said dryly. Dylan nodded in chime with his mother. Wimpy little momma's boy. "Besides, this isn't the School anymore. The School has been long gone. We are now the Rebuilding the World Corporation. All of these people here are key founding members that you obviously recognize from your… past excursions. They have all played crucial roles in your upbringing to the mutant that you are today. That is another reason why they are all here today to see you as we are finally able to apprehend your baby and raise it ourselves." The Director said.

There weren't words to describe how I was feeling at the moment. I couldn't even think of a decent comeback. All that I knew was that they were _not_ going to take Fang's and my baby.

"You are not going to put your filthy bloodstained hands on my baby. Find someone else to experiment on." I said acidly.

"I'm afraid that we can't do that. You see, who could be a better assassin for our enemies than the child of the indestructible Maximum Ride and her terrifying boyfriend Fang? He is the key to our success." That evil woman laughed. "Besides, I find it ironic that your own son will be your demise."

"You won't get my baby; I'll kill you all before you touch him!" I hissed.

"I'm so sorry, my dear Maximum, but you won't get the chance. Don't count on your mate coming and freeing you, either. It's futile, because he's insane. We had to confine him alone, because he injured the other human-Avian experiments. He died a few hours afterward. Now, if you will come quietly, it will be a lot less needless suffering on your part." The Director said with a confident leer as she blew a small silver whistle on a chain around her neck.

Two extra-large, burly Erasers lumbered into view, blocking the charming sight of my former foes.

"Bring her out and take her to delivery room twelve." The Director snapped. The Erasers fumbled with the keys in their overly large hands.

The cage door opened, and Ella, Nudge, Courage and I bolted toward the exit. We could take these guys.

Then we all instantly fell over, every synapse in our bodies hissing in pain caused by some type of electricity. Those stupid electric collars. Omega, stupid 'super boy' held the remote that set the collars off, a cruel, cold smile on his supposed nice looking face.

I wanted to get up and slug that prettyboy's face with everything I had. Dylan too. The little scum slapped high fives with Omega. I wanted to kill them both. I wanted to kill them all.

Liars. They were all liars. Fang was not, could not, and would not be dead. Not while I'm around. Fang's not crazy, either. He's coming to save me and I'm coming to get him. The Erasers shoved the other girls behind me. I was still mostly paralyzed, I could never get away. But I wouldn't make it easy for them.

I dug my half-frozen heels into the ground n bit into the Eraser's beef arm. It howled in pain and rage and shook me around violently.

"Don't do that! You might injure the baby!" hissed Dr. Häagen-Dazs. The other Eraser growled and savagely yanked me off the other Eraser. My mouth was filled with the nasty taste of the Eraser's hot blood and a chunk of its flesh, which I abruptly spat out.

Now they couldn't say that my bark was worse than my bite.

The Eraser that I bit grabbed my numb legs and the other carried me while keeping my arms pinned tightly against my body. Great. Just great. Now what.

"What now, you witch?" I snarled to the Director as the Erasers dragged me out into the hallway, slamming the door behind them with a loud bang.

She smiled dryly and I watched the other girls in the cell watch me with, wide, helpless eyes.

The Erasers carried me down various corridors until they stopped before a door with a tiny window built at eye level. Though it, I saw a larger-than-normal operation table. This one had crisp white sheets covering the sheer, cold metal tabletop. There were other, strange instruments of evil on the little tray by the table.

Yippee.

I strained to look behind me.

All of my least favorite whitecoats and company were following the big Erasers. The Director brusquely opened the door.

The baby kicked me from the inside. Darn it, that hurt.

The Eraser who I didn't bite, the one who had his arms around my midsection keeping my arms pinned, looked startled.

I guess it's never seen someone pregnant before. I mean, it's lived inside the walls of the School and experiments never reproduced. Fang and I were the first ones to.

Fang. That stupid Eraser felt the baby kick before Fang did. Somehow, that set me off. I blame it on hormones. Big fat tears dripped off my face and on to the floor. The Eraser looked at me with a look that almost looked like… pity?

It's probably dragged hundreds of experiments to their doom. Those experiments probably cried too.

I cried harder, for the injustice of it all.

It shouldn't be like this. This place and all of the evil people in it deserved to burn to the ground.

Tears continued to drip down my face. I closed my eyes, so I wouldn't have to look at the sneers and scornful looks of the rest of the whitecoats. I heard the door open and the heavy footfalls of Erasers that were carrying me forward.

The lighter footsteps of the whitecoats and their associates moved behind me.

I struggled as the Erasers lowered me and held my arms and legs down. I looked around frantically. Anything, anything that could help me.

For some strange reason, my eyes met Dylan's. Eyes that I briefly fell in love with, a long, long time ago.

Tears still wouldn't stop dripping down, no matter how much I wanted them to. I haven't cried in the School since I was… six? Something like that.

Dylan was failing at appearing emotionless. His eyes gave it all away. He felt bad for me. But he was too cowardly to do so, I already knew that much. What a big help, pity gets me nowhere.

Max II had a similar expression as Dylan's. Again, I guess I was alone.

Using the classical Velcro straps, ter Borcht strapped my wrists down.

"You are all out of ze stupid, zarcastic remarks now, Maximum." snorted ter Borcht as he hobbled back to his place by the other bad-guys.

Normally, I would have said "Not vreally." Or some other smart comment. I wasn't in the mood. Whatever they were going to do, it was important to have all of my evil enemies to come and watch. I wouldn't be surprised if they all brought popcorn.

"What exactly do you plan to do?" I asked miserably. All forms of verbal hostility were on vacation.

"We are," started the Director as she turned her back to me to get some torture device of the little tray thing. The Erasers skittishly moved to the door. I took this as a bad sign. The tears were miraculously gone now. Small miracles.

The Director turned around, with a large syringe filed with a clear liquid in hand.

"Well, you are going to have your baby. This serum will just speed up the delivery process to… now." The Director said with a confident, menacing smirk.

I couldn't have the baby now. I couldn't do it alone. Fang had to be here, holding my hand, coaxing me through the whole thing like I knew that he would.

Fang wasn't even going to be here for the birth of his first baby… he wasn't here for me.

**Nudge POV**

I sat slumped against the wall, defeated. Courage laid on a bed facedown with her wings drooping out around her. Ella was hanging upside down from her bed's edge, her long hair spread out on the floor.

Then, a perfect, wonderful, amazing idea came into my head. If I used my metal-controlling power, I could just screw with the lock's internal-things until it snapped open. If that didn't work, I could just repel the door and snap it off the hinges.

If only I had the energy. I couldn't even move a paperclip. I had to try. I had to get to Talon. I missed him so much! I was determined now. I had to get to Talon. No one else could free us. It was me who had to do it.

Just the thought, the memory of Talon being close to me, his warm skin close to mine, how if this door would move, I could touch his warm skin again, I could hear his voice again. I was filled with a new, powerful energy and I focused the way I did when I wanted to use my skill. The door shuddered then blasted against the other wall across the hallway.

I swooned from loss of energy. No. I wouldn't pass out. We had to get out of here, and Ella and Courage would not drag me out of here. I had to free the boys too.

I shakily stood up and sprinted to the now gaping hole where the cage-like door was. Ella and Courage gaped in shock.

"You… you…" Courage stammered.

"Later." I said, which was the shortest comment I've ever spoken was. I gestured wildly for them to hurry up. Someone was bound to see the deformed door.

They snapped out of their daze and scurried to keep up with me. Every time that there was a choice between two hallways, I stopped and listened. I heard the faint sound of banging and talking. Boys talking. The Flock boys in specific. Yes, I could hear them thanks to my nifty, bird-kid hearing.

The banging was the rattling of cage doors. Big cage doors. Like the one that we used to have blocking our only way out.

I ran down the hall, with Ella and Courage close behind. Normally, we would have split up to save Max and the boys, but we couldn't fight off Omega, Max 2, and all of those Erasers. No we needed the boys to help us. Especially Fang. He could really kick butt, especially when Max was involved.

We turned the last corner and there it was. The Fang, Iggy, Gazzy and…Talon. He saw me.

"NUDGE!" He yelled. He leaped over by the door and I ran over to him. Since neither of our hands could fit through the bars, we just pressed our hands against the door and touched each other's skin.

"I missed you." I choked out, looking deeply into his eyes. I would not cry. I wouldn't.

I missed you too, love." He said in his wonderful, charming British accent. I missed him... did I mention that I missed him so freaking much? I glanced to see how the other Flock members' were.

Iggy and Ella were making out between the bars. Gazzy was telling Courage about his newfound ability to control water. Great, now he can control water. Wonderful. At least Courage's ability to control fire will keep him in line. And Fang… poor Fang. He was looking around wildly for Max. His eyes, they looked livid, alone, and almost feral. But also sad. Very, heartbreakingly sad.

"Fang." I said softly. His head whipped over to look at me.

"Where is she?" he said getting right to the point.

"I'm sorry. We tried to stop them, but they took her. They took her. They said something about taking her baby out of her." I said, trying to sound calm. I really didn't know how he would react.

For the first time in my life, I saw Fang look scared. Not scared, terrified. Fang, the emotionless, the only-sometimes-expresses-anger-has-the-emotional-range-of-a-brick-wall; that Fang was terrified. Terrified for Max and his baby. It was hard enough thinking that Max was going to be a mom herself. I never really thought about the fact that Fang was going to be a dad. Fang, he was like my big brother, he was going to be a dad.

That thought just struck me as strange.

Fang suddenly walked away and to the cell's back wall. I wondered what he was doing but Gazzy answered the question for me.

"Watch out." Gazzy said flatly as the boys tiredly walked out of the way of the door. Ella, Courage and I followed the boys' example.

I watched in curiosity. What was Fang going to do?

Fang used the wall as a springboard and took two swift running steps and spread out his black wings. The second he was an inch off the ground (the ceiling was too low for him to fly any higher) he closed his eyes. Somehow, he used Max's sonic speed and at the speed of lightning, he sped forward… and crashed right into the door.

The door shuddered loudly and clanged, but didn't budge.

He didn't move. I opened my mouth to ask if he was okay and a dozen other questions when Fang's wing twitched and slowly retracted to his back.

It was a miracle that he was alive really. He could have broken his back and paralyzed or snapped his neck and died on the spot.

"Fang! What was that for! Did it ever occur to you that we found a way to get out, and you don't hear us banging against the bars! No, you could've killed yourself, then where would Max be? Huh? She would be alone with a newborn baby and you would be in a hole in the ground, I know that you are willing to do anything to help her but you're no good to her dead. So just be patient, and use your brain for God's sake!" I ranted as I concentrated, searching for the energy that I had when I freed us from our own prison.

But that fire, that raw energy and passion was… gone. I needed to think about Talon, that when I opened the door, he would be free, and I could kiss him for the first time ever. I made that decision while I was still rotting in that horrid cell.

Kissing Talon… the sweet picture in my mind caused newfound energy to engulf me and sweep me away. I channeled it like I did before and the door smashed against the wall, narrowly missing Courage in the process. She scowled at me, and I shrugged. Hey, at least I got the stupid door open.

The boys looked at me unbelievingly. I smiled briefly. Then ran over and forced my lips on Talon's. It was better than I dreamt it would be. I was filled with a warm, pleasant, overwhelming sense of security, pleasure, happiness, and other positive feelings.

Talon grinned after we broke apart.

"That was..." I started breathlessly.

"Bloody amazing, that's what it was!" Talon whooped. I chuckled.

Iggy and Ella and Gazzy and Courage were all together. Gazzy hugged Courage and they stayed like that… for a little while before blushing and scrambling to get apart. Iggy and Ella were hugging and kissing like two characters out of a soap opera.

Fang was looking down the hallways, searching for wherever Max was.

"Come on, guys. Let's get Max now." I said, feeling all leader-y. Fang slightly nodded; his sign of approval.

The rest of the Flock reluctantly let their partner go and followed me back the way we came. After a minute or two of walking down corridors, we got to the place where I had broken Ella, Courage and myself out of our old cell. The mangled metal door still lay crookedly on the white marble floor.

"How are we supposed to find Max?" asked Talon. Ella smiled grimly.

"Pretty easily. She left us a trail of breadcrumbs; like from Hansel and Gretel." She said as she pointed to the floor.

Little ruby colored drops of blood dotted in various sized drops stood out grotesquely against the whiteness. Max's blood from the slices on her arms. The ones that she was too tired to heal.

"It's her blood?" Fang asked quietly. Everyone looked startled. I mean, I knew that Fang was quiet and all, but it wasn't like he never talked.

I nodded. His expression was unreadable; but his eyes were murderous. Whoever was in that room with Max was going to die. Fang was going to kill every last living thing in that room except for Max, and the baby, he/ she was born yet.

Talon still looked a little shocked as we followed the trail of Max's blood.

"He hasn't talked since they took him away from Max in that hallway." Talon said quietly. We were bringing up the rear of the group. Fang was sprinting in the lead.

"That was almost six months ago!" I gasped in horror. That was insane.

However, it wasn't as insane as the look on the Director's face as we barged into the room where the blood drops ended in front of. There was Max, her big belly standing out against the rest of her starved body. She was strapped down, and the Director was about to inject a large syringe into Max's exposed forearm.

The rest of the Psycos Incorporated group looked surprised and even terrified.

With Fang looking the way that he did, I'd be terrified too. He looked lethal and ready to kill.

Fang launched himself at the Director. She was a goner. The rest of us attacked the small group of our past enemies. I went after Dr. Häagen-Dazs and Talon went after Dylan. Courage got ter Borcht and Ella took down Max II. Iggy got to deal with Omega. Gazzy attacked Brigid.

I knocked Häagen-Dazs down and he was unconscious. I kicked him on the side of the head for good measure. In a moment, I heard the sound of pained grunts and kicks and punches impacting on skin.

Then there was the bone chilling growl of Erasers. Great. I had forgotten about them. Talon, Iggy, and Ella were still fighting, but the rest of us fought the extra-large Erasers. Fang was saying something to the Director, who he had lifted into the air, her feet dangling a good three inches above the ground.

These Erasers were tougher than the usual dog-boys, but we could take them. I hoped.

**Fang POV**

"A quick death is just too good for you, so we'll take it slow." I snapped at the Director. I snapped her puny little human arms like nobody's business. Normally, this would have been a little extreme. But I was mad, mad, mad. I had to hear Max being tortured practically every day thanks to her. I never was there for Max when she needed me thanks to the Director.

The Director shrieked.

Oh, she didn't even know pain. After all the pain that she caused, she deserved worse, much worse. She's ruined and unnecessarily ended so many kids lives by her little 'experiments' Max's life, My life, the whole Flock's life, for example.

I knocked her out, temporarily. I freed Max next.

She was sobbing her eyes out, which I almost never saw.

"Max, sweetheart, it's okay. I'm here now. I missed you so much. Every day, I heard you screaming. I tried and tried to get out to help you but I couldn't. I'm sorry. I missed you..." I said softly into her ear.

She clung on to me, like she would never see me again. It broke my heart to see her like this.

I could feel pretty much every bone in her body. Didn't they know that she was starving? They could have killed her.

"Shh… Max. I'm here now. For both of you." I whispered so that only she could hear me. I put my hand on her swollen stomach. This was the first time that I had seen her in months, and she was pregnant that whole time… without me being there.

I felt more terrible than I had in a really long time. Since the day that I left her after Total and Akilla's wedding. I was a horrible person for leaving her alone like this. I could've gotten out and helped her somehow. I just didn't try hard enough. Great, now I was almost crying with her.

Then, the baby kicked the spot where my hand was. I sort of jumped, not expecting it. Max kind of smiled amongst her tears. I grinned, which was really different for me but I couldn't not smile if I tried. I was going to be a dad.

Max started… laughing. I scowled, wondering what was so funny.

"I've been waiting for you to do that for ever!" Max laughed. I smiled and squeezed Max closer. She gasped. I pulled back, wondering what I'd done now.

"You're squishing the baby." She said. I grinned. I heard a scream from behind me. Oh, right. The Flock was fighting our enemies.

"Stay here, I'm going to help them." I told Max as I turned to help the Flock finish these whitecoat bozos off.

"No." she said flatly. I looked at her.

"What do you mean, 'no'?" I said. There was another shriek, coming from Ella. I had to help them now. "Look, we'll argue later, but it's not just your life that you're putting at risk by fighting now, Max." I gingerly stroked her baby bump. Then, without waiting for her reply I ran off to fight.

I kicked an Eraser in the chest that had Courage by the hair. It grunted and dropped her. I crushed its windpipe, and it stiffened then went limp.

The other Eraser had scratched Nudge across the face and blood was rushing in torrents down her body.

Talon, who was fighting Dylan, looked murderous and his claws, or talons sprang out of his fingertips. Talon balled his fist up and gave Dylan a brutal uppercut followed by a swift right hook. Dylan was down for the count, good riddance. I'll kill him later.

I knocked the Eraser that was attacking Nudge down and Talon slit its throat like a Thanksgiving ham.

I shouldn't have tried to heal anything because I was already dead tired and I would probably drain all of my energy and die, but the slice marks down Nudge's face were really bad and I knew how Talon felt, so I reached over to Nudge.

"Nudge, be still for a sec." I said as I warily used Max's healing power. My new skill was really useful. It would probably be the death of me, but there's no denying that it was useful.

I felt the warmth of the healing skill come then leave me as the marks on Nudge's face closed up, turned into little pink scars, then disappeared.

I stumbled and felt my heart slow way down. My vision fogged up. Oh God, I was dying. My heartbeat was only a faint flutter and I collapsed to the ground. The room was getting darker and my hearing was going out on me. This was it.

Then I saw Max through the blur. She had hauled the Director on to the table thing and had strapped her down. I had to be there for her, for the baby, I was _not_ going to die. There was too much left in the world to do.

I was filled with a new energy and stood up.

"Fang… how did you… I thought that only Max could…" Nudge stammered. I turned to finish off Omega, who was giving Iggy a hard time.

Talon turned me back around.

"Hey, thanks." He said. "I don't know what I'd do without…I mean she means so…" Talon started, not quite finding the right way to phrase it.

"It's okay. I know what you mean." I said and I went off in the direction of Omega. Kick after punch, Iggy tried to block the blows but this kid was too fast.

I tapped Omega on the shoulder and when he stupidly turned around a faked to the right and quickly slugged him with my other arm on the left side of his face.

"Now I can see why they call you 'Omega' instead of 'Alpha', because you always come in last." I smirked. Iggy's eyes, both of them, were swelled up. Those were going to leave awful shiners. I could also see that a few of his fingers and a couple of bones in his hands were broken. That had to hurt.

He nodded at me then helped Ella take down Max II who had snapped a few of Ella's ribs. I could see her having trouble breathing. N a matter of moments, Max II was out cold n the ground.

It felt like a cold hand was gripped over my heart, seeing the spitting image of Max on the floor, blood trickling out of her mouth But I knew that she wasn't the real Max; my Max. Max II wasn't pregnant, anyways.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Talon and Nudge making sure that all of the bad-guys were unconscious. Yep, all baddies out and accounted for.

Max had tied a gag in the Director's mouth so she couldn't make a sound. I walked over to Max and put my arm around her waist.

"Now you'll see what it's like to wait to die!" Max said. I sure did love her inspiring speeches.

Max and I turned around and gathered all of the Flock together.

"Okay, guys. You did a great job fighting back there. Gazzy, I know that you have a big, huge bomb somewhere hidden on you so I want you to set that off and blow this place to kingdom come!" Max ordered. It was so good to have her back.

"Max, it's a timer bomb. Do you think two minutes will be enough time to get out of here?" Gazzy said.

"If we run, which won't be hard. The whitecoats are really good about putting up exit signs." Max said.

"But what if somebody comes in here and finds the bomb? Then we'll have to come back here, blow it all up, and the Director and her evil crew could escape! Then we'd have to deal with them all over again." Courage put in. Dang it, she had a point.

"We'd have to leave someone here to guard the bomb. Someone who stays and makes sure that the bomb stays in place and that the whitecoats in this room don't escape." Iggy said. The room grew quiet.

"That means that someone would get left behind… and they'd get blown up." Ella whispered.

The Flock looked at each other. No one wanted to die. No one wanted to leave their boyfriend/girlfriend. I saw in Max's beautiful brown eyes that she wanted to stay. She would gladly die if it kept the Flock safe forever. I gestured to the baby inside of her.

She looked at the floor and nodded she knew, like I said before that she wouldn't just be dying herself, but the baby would die too. I would gladly go too. It would keep Max and the baby safe. But I had to take care of Max and the baby by living. I'd be no good to them dead.

"I'll go." Said Iggy, breaking the silence.

"NO!" shrieked Ella. "No, you're not going!" she said, angry tears dripping from her eyes.

"I have to; I can defend it better than anyone besides Max and Fang. I can build bombs too so I can make sure that it works and Max and Fang have someone else to worry about right now." Iggy said, referring to the baby. Ella was crying and so was the rest of the Flock now.

"Then I'm staying here too." Ella cried as she clung on to Iggy.

"No, you're leaving with the rest of the Flock. You're going to get out of here, be with the rest of the Flock, and find someone else. Someone else who will love you like I do. I'm sure that there will be other bird-guys around somewhere. I always wanted to go out with a bang anyways." Iggy said.

"No! I won't love anyone else and you can't make me leave!" Ella said firmly. The bossiness must run in the family, because she sounded a lot like Max.

Iggy sighed.

"I love you Ella, but don't hate me for this." Iggy said as he scooped her up and put her over his shoulder.

"NO! No, I'm not leaving you! Put me down! Please, Iggy!" Ella sobbed as Iggy started walking to the door, taking Ella with him. He looked like he was about to start crying too, and that almost never happened.

"No, stop. I'll stay." said a girl's voice. Not just any girl, Max.

"No, Max, I'll die before you do, you're not the only one who'd die but the baby would too and you're not…" I stated calmly, but was interrupted.

"I didn't say anything!" snapped Max. I looked at Max. She looked irritated.

"She didn't, I did." said a voice from somewhere behind me. I turned around. It was Max II. I silently cursed myself for being too wrapped up in all the drama to check to see if the evil people were still out cold.

I stepped in front of Max, protecting her for when Max II attacked. She never did.

"I don't have a life anyways. I never will. I don't even know why I'm here in this dump. I guess that there's no place for a Maximum Ride knockoff in the world." Max II said dryly. "At least I would have done something worthwhile in my life."

It was really sad. She didn't choose to be a clone, and she'd never been needed, really. Or wanted. It was a sad life. Something that would have been avoided if it weren't for the stupid School. Of course, I would have never met Max. Max probably wouldn't be here. That was the only good ever to come out of the School.

I would have questioned her, but her eyes told me everything I needed to know. She wanted to die. She was sick of living in the shadow of someone else, and no matter how alone or far away from the real Max she was, she would always be living in her shadow. I nodded solemnly.

"The same goes for me." Said Dylan. Why did this keep happening?

I was so gonna kill him. For everything.

I clenched my hands into fists, ready to fight to the death.

"Chill, Fang. I'm with her." Dylan said as he held Max II's hand. Dylan. Max II. Together? Whaaaattt? Was I missing something?

Out of the corner of my eye I looked to see how the rest of the Flock was taking this. I saw a few slack jaws and mouths hanging open.

"So, you're an item now? Against mother's wished I assume." I said flatly. Dylan shrugged.

"She's not my real mom anyways. I'm really a clone. And…" Dylan started. I heard ripping fabric. Then, two white wings spread out from Dylan's back. "I really have wings; well now, anyways. Mother dearest just told me that I really am a clone and have no relation to her really. They gave me these wings a week ago. Against my will, of course." Dylan said flatly. "That woman isn't a mother. She's a monster."

Well, I didn't expect that.

"Max II and I have a lot in common. Not a match made in heaven. Since we met here, it's really like the opposite." Dylan said with ill humor.

Didn't expect that either.

"How are we supposed to trust that you won't free them?" I said, gesturing to the motionless whitecoats and crew.

"I can't prove it, but I swear I will. Max II and I were… 'retiring' since we were 'outdated' anyways." Dylan said.

"What do you mean…" started Ella, butting in.

Dylan and Max II turned around exposing their necks. Their expiration dates… were today.

"We were going to expire after Max, the real one's 'operation'." Max II said, smiling sadly. Well, this was a tragedy if I ever saw one. I trusted them.

I nodded to them.

"Well, everyone except Gazzy and Courage move out. Get out of here. I'll find you in the sky. Avoid stopping and fighting at all costs!" Max barked. The Flock waved bye to Dylan and Max II our unexpected allies.

After a second of Gazzy and Courage talking in hushed tones and tinkering with the bomb, the set it under the table where the Director was.

"Bomb is set and is starting…." Courage said.

"NOW!" Gazzy and Courage said at the same time as a small little beep sounded signaling the starting of the bomb's timer. They ran out of the room.

"This isn't a good time, but I'm sorry; for everything. It's okay if you don't accept it but I had to say it, you know…" Dylan said.

Max awkwardly touched Dylan on the shoulder.

"I forgive you." Max said as she nonchalantly elbowed me in the stomach. She wanted me to accept his apology too. I couldn't let him die thinking that I hated him. After him dying for us and all.

" Ditto." I said, though I didn't touch him on the shoulder.

"I don't think a thanks cuts it…" Max started.

"But thanks!" I finished quickly, not wanting us to be there when the bomb blew up.

"Max, Fang!" Max II shouted. We were in the doorway, but momentarily stopped.

"What are you going to name the baby?" she shouted. This wasn't really the time…

Max shrugged.

"What about Raven? I always liked that name…" Max II said.

"Alright! I'll put that at the top of the list!" Max said, sounding sort of choked up. Max II smiled, but I saw the little tear that fell from Max II's eye. She was scared to die.

Max and I ran down the halls, following the exit signs. There wasn't enough time, there wasn't enough time. There was a window.

"Max, follow me!" I shouted as I crashed through the window. I heard her leap through the window behind me.

We were on the first floor, on a window right above the ground, so I hit he dirt running. Max ran a few feet behind me trying to conceal her panting. I spread my wings and used the running start as a boost and soared up into the air I was about fifty feet above the ground when I heard someone yell.

"Fang, wait! I can't fly! I can't!" Max shouted from the ground, furiously trying to get off the ground. I guess whitecoats didn't think of everything when it came to designing us. Apparently, pregnant bird-teens can't fly.

I did a loop/flip thing and turned around. I glided next to Max and picked her up, bridal style.

_I can get us out of here… I can get us out of here…_ I said in my head.

_BOOM!_

The air rattled with an ear shattering boom and a heat wave caused me to spiral out of control. I spread my wings out as wide as they would go, hoping that they would pick up some sort of smooth air current to keep me in the air.

They did, thank God.

I banked wide, taking a good look at the crater that used to be the School. Rubble rained down from hundreds of feet above _me._ And I was at airplane height. There was absolutely no way that anyone survived that.

I immediately felt bad for Max II and Dylan, who weren't as bad as I thought. They turned out to be good guys after all. They saved our butts, that's for sure and I'd never forget them for it. I wasn't going to name my son Dylan, though. Nope. Ain't gonna happen.

I caught up with the Flock, who were waiting anxiously about a mile away from the blast zone.

"ZOMG! What happened to Max?" Nudge squeaked. I smirked.

"Not. One. Word." Max growled, her arms folded across her chest. I shrugged.

The rest of the Flock looked somewhat disappointed. They wanted to hear this story. When Max was zoned out, I turned my head to look at them and mouthed the words 'She can't fly'.

Gazzy snickered and Iggy stifled a laugh.

"That's really sad when a bird-kid can't fly." Said an eerily familiar voice. A small pair of white wings could be seen below me. Curly blond hair whipped around the white winged 'bird's' head. Angel.

What was she doing here? Iggy gave me a look that said 'she tagged along, and we couldn't just leave her.' I understood, but I sort of… I sort of wished that she'd been in the School when it blew up. She was just too unpredictable. And a backstabber. We flew for a few hours until we reached the California coastline.

We stopped and broke into a deserted beach house. Thankfully, the house was stocked to the gills with food, so Iggy whipped us up a feast. We ate it like starving bird kids. In fact, we were.

For the first time in a long time, I slept next to Max. It felt so insanely good that I could've sworn it was a rare, good dream.

We stayed at the beach house, since the calendar on the wall said that it wasn't going to be rented out until the next month.

Since we hated hospitals, Max and I researched home births. We also looked at baby names, but we picked our names so we didn't really know what to do about that.

After we had been at the beach house for a week, we didn't look as pale from being cooped up in a dank cell for months and most of our bones weren't protruding from our skin. Hey, it was a _beach_ house. We weren't going to waste the beach.

After that, we flew off to the island that Max and I found. The Flock marveled at how beautiful it was. I was happy with how safe and isolated it was. Sure, we were going to have to fly to the store occasionally, but I'd be worth it. The School was gone forever, and it was never coming back.

"We're home." I said, and I never thought I'd ever say those words.

"FANG! I am going to _kill_ you!" Max shrieked. I didn't take it too seriously, since I'd been hearing death threats for the past half hour.

Yep, Max went into labor. At one thirty in the morning. What a way to start the day!

We built a separate house for Max and I and another for Iggy and Ella. It involved a shouting match between Iggy and Max and Ella, but eventually, Iggy and Ella got their way.

Gazzy, Courage, Nudge, Angel and Talon wanted to get separate tree-houses too like the big bird kids, but we had to put our foot down to that. Maybe when they're older.

Nudge said it was like the Swiss Family Robinson tree house from Disney World when we went a year ago. A year ago… it seemed like a lifetime ago.

"Come on, you're almost there Sweetheart." I said softly. She had a heck of a grip. I think that I was going to have to get my arm amputated after this was over.

"Don't you 'Sweetheart' me! This is your fault!" Max shouted. I was proud of her; the only screaming that she did was when she screamed at me. That's my tough Max.

"Oh, God this hurts! Make it stop! Make it stop!" she gasped. I wiped the sweat off her forehead, wishing that I could do more.

"It will all be over soon, Max. You're almost there." I said as soothingly as I could. I was like, really scared and I felt lost. I mean I'd read about this stuff, but it definitely wasn't the same thing.

Iggy and Ella flew into the door, saving my life.

"OMG, Max is having the baby! Iggy, go tell the other kids that it's okay and Max isn't being murdered. You go take them down to the hot springs for a late night dip so they don't worry." Ella said, gaining her sister's leading composure. "I've delivered plenty of puppies, kittens, horses, heck, even a cow. This couldn't be that different."

"Fang, man. You look like you're about to pass out." Iggy said, stifling a laugh. It wasn't freaking funny! I was about to be a dad, Max was in pain, I was lost in all of this and I didn't know what to do. It didn't help that Max kept giving me death threats, but I really didn't blame her. Great, now I was like chattering… to myself.

"Fang, Max _chill_." Iggy, you stay out of here. Go get Nudge and tell her to get some hot water from the hot springs. Also, get some cold water from the regular spring. Fang, get some fresh towels and for God's sake, calm _down_!" Ella ordered.

Max started again with the death threats and added some explicates to the mix. Iggy cringed.

"Don't plan on getting pregnant soon." Iggy mumbled in Ella's ear. She scowled.

"Oh, come on. It's not _that_ bad." Ella argued.

"You're right. It's worse." I said quietly. Iggy laughed as he flew out into the night sky to do what Ella told him. Ella looked at me dryly from where she was at the foot of the bed.

I was up by Max's head; stroking her hair out of her sweaty face. I ran down the hall and grabbed all of the towels I'd stored for this occasion.

I grabbed as many as I could carry. I gave Ella the towels and made the mistake of looking. I… was going to be sick. My knees buckled and gave out on me and my head smacked against the floor.

I remember waking up to Nudge shouting in my ear. "Fang you have to wake up or I'll let Gazzy fart in your face!" Whoa, no!

I shot up.

"I'm up!" I said shortly. I looked around to see only Ella, Nudge, and Max. Max was still breathing heavy and Ella was still fully concentrated.

Nudge ran over with a bucket of steaming water and set it down beside Ella. Max was lying on our bed and Ella was at the foot of the bed. I walked up over to Max.

I heard Ella mutter "Boys! Sure, they can handle the fun part but chicken out when it comes to the dirty work!" as I walked past. I felt my face get a little hot as I realized what she'd said.

"Fang! I need you!" Max shrieked. I fumbled over to the bedside. She grabbed my hand.

"Fang, stay here. I need you." Max said.

"Okay, I'm here." I said.

"Don't go." She said softer.

"I won't, I'm here." I said as I realized this was almost word for word for the discussion we'd had when she was at the vet clinic a year ago getting surgery and high off of valium.

"Do you mean it this time? 'Cause last time you didn't!" Max growled. Her bipolar moods really wierded me out sometimes. But she was right.

"I swear, I'll stay here with you. I won't leave." I said.

She let out a shrill squeak that grew into a muffled scream. It must hurt really bad to make her scream like that. I felt helpless. There weren't any Erasers to fight off to make her pain stop. Healing powers wouldn't do anything.

I sat there holding her hand, helpless and hating the feeling.

Max screamed for real this time and it made the hair on my arms stand on end. Then, I heard the sound of a baby crying.

I kissed Max's sweaty forehead.

"It's a boy!" Ella said, beaming. Time seemed to freeze. After a few minutes, Ella walked over and handed Max's and my son to Max. The baby was wrapped in a soft towel and was squalling. Max's tear streaked face had new, fresh tears running down it.

She had a calm, happy expression on her face. She gently rocked our baby.

Nudge had just left to tell the rest of the Flock the good news. Ella quickly put the dirty towels in a bucket and put it into the kitchen. They'd get washed later.

"I can't believe I'm an aunt! And a godmother!" Ella squealed from the kitchen.

The baby had stopped crying and was drowsily blinking his eyes.

"Can I hold him?" I managed. Max rolled her eyes at me.

"Of course you can hold him, he's your son too, stupid." Max said.

I reached over and as carefully as I could, lifted the baby and sat on the bedside next to Max.

I got my first good look at him. He had Max's light brown/blondish hair, that I knew for sure. His skin tone also favored her. His eyes were… blue. Wait, I'd read somewhere that I'd be a few months before the baby's eyes changed to their normal color. I still had another question though…

Still holding the baby against my chest, I shifted the towel slightly to reveal his back. My heart stopped in my chest. I gently tugged one of his tiny wings to fully extend it.

"Fang, his wings look just like yours." Max whispered. She was right. His wings were like a miniature version of mine. They were glossy black, and even in the candlelight that lit the room, I could see that they glistened purple.

No doubt about it, it was one of the happiest day of my life.

"What are we going to name him?" I said quietly, to avoid waking the baby up. I couldn't keep calling him 'the baby'.

Max thought for a minute then a beautiful smile crossed her face.

"Raven. We'll name him Raven." Max said. Raven was the name Max II liked. It was like Max II knew what the baby was going to look like. A perfect name. It was better than 'Dylan'. Or 'tooth' or 'claw' as Gazzy and Iggy wanted to call him.

"Raven it is." I said. I leaned over and kissed Max on the head. She looked exhausted. I put a blanket over her body.

Then, the rest of the Flock came in timidly.

"What's his name?" asked Courage quietly everyone looked at me; since they were silently asking that same question themselves.

"Raven. His name is Raven." Max said.

"Can I…" Nudge asked quietly.

"Be careful." I said. Max… didn't say anything. She was already asleep. She needed it.

Nudge picked Raven out gently from my arms and hugged him close. The rest of the Flock crowded around her, gazing at Raven in wonder.

"Be very careful, and look at his wings." I said. Everyone was whispering in soft, hushed tones.

Nudge gently moved the towel down some to reveal Raven's silky black wings. The Flock gasped quietly in awe.

"They look just like yours, Fang." Courage said softly. Gazzy looked at Raven curiously. Courage looked like she was afraid to touch him. Iggy was holding Ella close.

"You still don't want a baby?" Ella said to Iggy. Iggy's gaze was still transfixed on Raven.

"Maybe they're not that bad." Iggy said. Ella swatted him on the shoulder.

"Not that bad? Look at him. Isn't he the sweetest thing you've ever seen?" Ella cooed. Iggy slowly smiled.

"Yeah." He said.

The Flock's eyes were drooping shut, but they were trying to stay awake.

"Hey, you guys, it's still too early to b up. Why don't you go back to bed and you can see him in the morning. Alright?" I said. The Flock nodded sleepily. They filed out the door, one by one, congratulating me and Max again as they flew off into the night to their beds.

Max did all the real work.

I tucked Raven into the crib that I made out of wood and then sleepily curled up next to Max.

Did you notice who didn't come to see Raven for the first time? Yep, Angel.

**Angel POV**

Months have gone by since _that baby_ was born. Max and Fang fawn over that thing like it's the most important thing in the world.

The rest of the Flock is either occupied with themselves or cooing over the new baby.

Just clarifying here, I am not _jealous_ that the baby is getting all of the attention now; I mean how petty is that? I'm mad because they are blind, even blinder than when they were first in love. I warned them in Africa, they're blindness would be the death of us all.

I hated to do it, but sometimes I just had to do the dirty work, for the better of the Flock. It is high time that Max and Fang had a wakeup call, because this isn't a fairytale where the world gets saved and the two lovebirds live happily ever after.

They still have other things to worry about.

I had other things to worry about.

Take today for example.

I just came back from my daily flight around the island and stopped by Max and Fang's tree house. I had to ask Max, again, if she'd help me on my quest. You see, if you haven't realized, everybody in the Flock has someone special in the Flock. Someone that they care about more than all the others. Even Dylan and Max II found love before they died.

I never got that. I have someone, the whitecoats assured me. I read their minds and everything, they were indeed telling the whole truth. My 'someone' is out there, somewhere. I just have to look hard and find him.

The whitecoats were supposed to tell me where he was when Max had her baby and they would let Courage, Gazzy, Nudge, Talon and me go. I needed a group to help me get him, to be my Flock.

However, they will only listen if Max helps me persuade them. Either that or I'd have to use my mind controlling powers, but I didn't know how long I could keep that up or if my mental hold on them would break when I slept.

I wanted them to come because they wanted to. They were my Flock too. They should want to help me for this little thing. They would want the same thing if their mate was lost and alone in the world.

Anyways, I pulled my wings in so I'd fit through the door. The door was half open, so it was kind of redundant to knock.

Plus, you know, I knew what they were doing. Mind reading powers and all. Don't worry; it wasn't anything 'bad' though Fang really wished that he didn't have to change the baby's diaper.

Max was cooking… just kidding. She was washing the clothes. See, on the island, we had to wash things the old fashioned way; which involved using rocks as the things as we scrubbed with, buckets of water, and soap that we nicked from faraway beach houses.

I walked inside and immediately scrunched my nose at the horrible smell. That explains why the door was open. Babies smelled horrible.

I walked up to Max, retching at the god-awful smell.

"Hi, Angel." Max said in a forced cheery tone. She wasn't happy that I was here. She thought that I was a psyco.

"Max, could you please, please do me a favor? It wouldn't take long. Just a few weeks or so." I asked quickly. I would do it alone, but again, I needed good fighters like Max and Fang in case things went sour and some mutant-haters decided to bust in. I couldn't kill _everybody_. Even with my new kill-people-with-my-mind power.

"Angel, for the last time, we can't! Look, I'm sorry and all that you don't have… anyone, but you still have us and Raven isn't old enough to travel like we need to. Maybe in a few months, that's all. Just be patient." Max said as she scrubbed a pair of Fang's jeans like a domestic wife.

WAKE UP MAX! We aren't Swiss Family Robinson! We aren't living in Disneyworld! We have _wings_! They aren't for decoration! As long as we are different, there will be people that hate us! People are hunting the remaining Itex/School experiments as we speak! They are being killed and captured by the government! I didn't have a stinking month! MY future boyfriend would be dead by then!

"Max, I don't have a month. You and Fang don't even have to go. If you would just help me recruit a few good fighting, thinking people, then it would be fine! I'd even stop bugging you!" I said exasperatedly. Why wasn't she seeing sense? Oh, right; she never did. She was Maximum Ride, sense wasn't in her vocabulary.

Then she got mad.

"Angel, no means no and you should learn what 'no' means! You guys aren't going anywhere without me! What if something happens to you! I'll never know what happened. No. Not gonna happen, sorry kiddo." Max said, her eyes blazing.

Fang's arm brushed against mine as he walked by, carrying the baby to the kitchen.

"I'm not a 'kiddo' or any little girl anymore! If you won't do something about my problem, then I'll do it myself, and you sure won't like it!" I shouted as I stormed out of the room. I leaped off the doorstep and flew off into the sky.

It's around two in the morning. I did a mental scan around the whole island. Everyone, even _that baby_ is. I will make sure of that.

I have my own room, so I don't have to worry about waking anyone else up.

I jumped out my tiny window and quietly opened my wings. I glided through the night, narrowly missing trees.

After a few minutes of listening to the air rush past my ears and the weird night noises of the forest, I finally made it to Max and Fang's tree house.

I swooped by the baby's window. I grabbed on to the window sill.

You're probably wondering why I didn't just use the door. Answer: Max and Fang would _hear _me.

I pulled myself up and let gravity take over as I silently pulled my wings in. I sat on the window sill and slid into the room. My feet made a small thump as I landed. I quickly mentally checked to see if anyone had woken up by the sudden noise. Nope, it was clear.

I quietly walked over to the crib in the corner of the room. Max and Fang were all the way down the hall in their own room, they would never know that I was here.

I peeked over the edge of the crib.

The baby was sleeping, his tuft of hair the same color as Max's hair. His little black wings were lazily spread out, like Fang always did when he slept.

I had to do this. I was for the best of the Flock.

I closed my mind to all thought, to keep me from distractions.

_It's nothing personal._ I told the baby in my head.

_Sleep… you will go to sleep now. You will never… _I started commanding telepathically. Then, I was frozen in place.

I couldn't continue mentally commanding. It was like I was locked, confined to my own brain. What could do something like this unless… another telepath?

I was slowly allowed to turn my head. Fang. Fang was in the doorway. His shaggy black hair was messed up, but even in the moonlight that penetrated the room through the window, I could see that his eyes were full of rage.

I've seen him furious, which was a terrifying thing in itself, but when he's livid like that _at_ you, it's a billion times worse.

Wait, Fang? Since when is he a telepath?

"You've gone too far this time, Angel." Fang's voice boomed in my head. Wow, this must be what it's like to get those mental messages that I send to people.

_I didn't mean any hard feelings. It's strictly what the Flock needs. _ I thought quietly in my head, knowing that he'd hear.

_No hard feelings? You were going to _kill_ him Angel! Kill him! You're not getting away with anything this time Angel._ Fang shot back mentally.

He was right. I was about to _kill_ a little defenseless baby. Erasers were different. There was no way that I was going to get help finding my future boyfriend now. I was an almost-murderer. Of a baby. That's low. Worse that a-whitecoat-lies-and-steals-someones-baby-and-grafts-Avian-DNA-to-it-then-tortures-it-for-life.

At that moment, the baby started crying. Fang got distracted, and that was all that I needed to get my powers back. I jumped out of the window. Away, away, away from the island, away from the Flock, gone.

**Max POV**

Fang told me what happened that night. Angel had tried to kill Raven. I never thought it'd come to this. It was worse than what I'd imagined. I'd thought that she'd come and kill me and Fang. Never our baby.

What was her freaking deal! I mean, who kills a baby?

It's like she was cut out to be a whitecoat.

Months went by, and Angel was still gone, probably for good.

I had mixed feelings about her. Some part of me hated her, most of me actually, but a tiny piece, deep down, still loved her.

I just didn't know about that girl. I'm just so glad that Fang caught her. I'm glad that he 'accidentally' brushed past her arm and absorbed her telepathy earlier that day. That new skill of his is a real lifesaver; just don't tell him I said that. I'd deny it.

Raven's eyes changed to a dark, dark brown. Almost black. The blue was totally gone. Just like Fang's eyes.

Life on the island got easier as life went on.

That is, until Angel came back. With her boyfriend that she's been talking about. She also came with a couple more winged friends.

You'll never guess what happened.

Okay, Ella and Iggy were babysitting Raven for a few hours and Fang and I were just chilling on the eastern shore; enjoying the quiet.

Then we saw four of the largest birds I'd ever seen. Bird-kids to be exact.

What the…? How many winged children were there in the world?

When they landed, I thought that my jaw was about to fall off. Fang looked mildly interested, which meant that he was so surprised that he was about to fall over.

There was Angel, covered in bruises, scratches, and had a broken ankle. Her top was the same one that she had on the day that she left and her shirt had a few bullet holes. A telltale sign that someone had come pretty darn close to shooting her. Her jeans were blood splattered and her tennis shoes had holes worn in them. She stumbled while landing due to her broken ankle. She gasped in pain.

A boy that looked a tiny bit older, maybe even the same age as her grabbed on to her arm and made sure that she didn't fall. He had reddish brown hair. His wings were a rusty red color too. When he looked up and spotted us, we got a good look at his face. Well, his eyes are what really stood out. They were a light mint green with a little wintry blue swirled in. The effect was quite dramatic.

Not exactly my type, but dramatic all the same.

The two other bird kids looked me in the face. Then their faces broke into grins. I couldn't believe what I was seeing. It was a heat mirage or something. There was no freaking way…

Dylan and Max II were there. Alive.

"But...but…" I said quietly. Fang was too stunned to make a comment, but didn't show it outwardly at all.

"Hey, Max. Hi, Fang. What's up? I can see that you're not pregnant anymore so can we see him… or is it a girl?" Max II said.

I smiled and she ran up and hugged me. Hey, just because she looked like me, it didn't mean that she had the same personality. She was a hugger. I, on the other hand, wasn't but hugged her because I thought that she was dead.

I hugged Dylan too and I felt Fang tense slightly. Cool down, Fang. Jeez. It's not like I'm kissing him. I twirled my wedding ring around my finger, silently but noticeably reminding Fang that I was married to him, not Dylan; and that would never change.

"Before we show you the baby, you have to tell us what happened. _All_ of you." I said while narrowing my gaze at Angel.

"Max, I mean Terra is better at telling stories than I am." Confessed Dylan. Terra? Who was… oh. Right. She probably didn't want to be called 'Max II' her whole life.

"Right, okay. I'll start where you guys left." Max, I mean Terra said.

I'll summarize the story.

Terra and Dylan prepared to die. Angel said that she knew that the place was about to blow up, so she quickly got to the control room and released all experiments. She lit up the signs on the walls that led the experiments out. That was all that Angel could do if she was to get out and catch up to us. As it turns out, Angel's boyfriend, now known as Griffin, was amongst that group, they just didn't realize it.

The whitecoats were cheating everybody all at once, like they always did. Anyways, as the building exploded, Max, I mean _Terra_ discovered that she had developed a new skill. She could create force-feilds, and not at a moment too soon. Because of her force-field, Angel couldn't pick up their mental readings through it, so she assumed that they died. But they lived, protected by the force-field. As for their expatriation dates, apparently, they were caused by those stupid computer-things that could kill us or bring us back to life at the touch of a button. Exactly like the ones that Fang and I destroyed in the story before this one.

Anyways, Terra passed out from exertion and Dylan helped her regain energy. They traced the Flock's trail back to the California coastline, where they met Angel, much to her surprise. They helped her track Griffin. (Dylan's skill was tracking, as you might have noticed) They found Griffin all the way in Iowa.

Then, they were attacked by a small band of mutant hunters that were after all the experiments. The mutants had split up into little groups and the rest of Griffin's group had already been killed. He was on the run, and Angel, Dylan, and Terra had barely managed to escape with him. Hence, the injuries. They flew back. And now Angel was sobbing, for real, begging forgiveness.

"I'm sorry! I was stupid! I just wanted to find him! I wasn't thinking strait. The loneliness made me crazy or something. Please, Max didn't make me leave!" Angel begged.

I wasn't going to make her leave, but it was going to take a whole lot more than that to let my guard down on her. I would allow her to stay with us, but I don't think that it would be the same way between us again. She had crossed a terrible line the night that she tried to kill, Raven, and that couldn't be ignored.

That's what I told her. She shrieked in happiness, still crying and was the happiest I'd seen her in a long time. She really believed that I was going to hate her and send her away, which I'd really never be able to do.

She was still my family. Granted, I'd always keep my eyes on her to make sure that she never went haywire, and I'd never forget her past, but I would make the best of it.

I told Terra and Dylan that we'd help them build a house, but first they could come and see Raven if they wanted too.

I swear that Terra teared up when she heard that we named the baby after the name that she had chosen as her final request. She felt honored, I guess.

So, we flew back to our house, telling the rest of the Flock the good news. Everyone, my whole family was finally all together in the only place that I've ever really called home. For better or for worse, we were together, and that is how it was to stay.

**THE END!**

**Hooray! I'm done! That. Sucker. Took. FOREVER. To write. Be grateful, cause I put lots of hours into this! Please don't make me feel terrible by reading, but not reviewing. Reviewing= me not dying. It's that big of a deal. TELL ME IF IT WAS GOOD!**


	15. Bonus: Deleted Scene!

**Thank you guys for the great reviews! I was SOO happy to see, like twelve review alerts! That's not even counting the people who subscribed to me as a favorite author! As thanks, I'll give you guys a really cute faxy chapter that I had to edit out. With the way that the story was evolving, it wouldn't fit harmoniously with the story, so I had to throw it out.**

**Disclaimer…**

**This is to luv it123, GaleLover94, shortbandie9, and silent-ninja-twins. I couldn't have finished this story without you!**

**Max POV**

I sat there with my head drooping downward. I'd never been this sick before. Bird-kids (and teens) don't get sick. Ever. I'd been hurling every morning for the past week now.

Thank God that the rest of the Flock is so love-struck with each other, that they don't really notice how awful I feel. And I probably don't look too hot either, but I hide it with the tough attitude that I always had.

Fang, on the other hand, was hard to fool. He knew me too well. He was bound to figure it out sometime. Wait a second. Throwing up. Every day. In the _mornings_.

Oh no. No, no no no no….

Panic swirling through my shaking body; I walked to the window of the 'E' shaped house. Yes, we returned to the place that Jeb had raised us. We didn't have anywhere else to go, and I wasn't going to leech off of my mother.

I spread my winds and I jumped off the balcony and my stomach churned, making me nauseous. Something was very wrong; I never got sick while _flying_! I had wings; I wasn't supposed to get sick!

I didn't risk using my sonic speed, in fear that if I did, I'd throw up, and that would be majorly gross. I barely glided above the treetops.

As slowly and as steadily as I could, I landed behind a large old supermarket and was greeted by a bunch of mangy old alley cats.

My stomach lurched and I stumbled over to a dumpster where I threw up. Again. Something was definitely wrong. And I had to avoid Fang, at all costs, because he'd take one look at me and know that there was something seriously wrong with me.

I trudged down the sidewalk, carefully keeping my eyes from making contact with the other pedestrians, who gave my stained clothes and ripped jeans harsh looks. I shuffled into the drugstore, and found the aisle I was looking for.

I glanced on the rack for a moment and picked the most expensive box I could find. I wasn't going to buy the thing just for it to lie to me, so I was just gonna have to pay full price for the fancy-schmancy one.

I pulled a lone twenty out of my back pocket as I walked up to the bored teenage cashier girl who was busily smacking her gum and flipping through one of those corny gossip magazines that Nudge is always ranting about.

I shoved my box on the counter and waited for the girl to do her job and ring me up. The cashier looked at the box skeptically as she scanned it.

"Did your boyfriend knock you up?" she asked nonchalantly as she popped her gum.

_No, he's not my boyfriend, we're married!_ I thought as I felt my face get hot. It took a heck of a lot of Max ride willpower not to say something along the lines of 'go choke on your gum, brat!' considering the situation I was in.

It wasn't the girl's job to examine everything that a customer buys, especially when it's something personal, like a pregnancy test.

"No," I said as I fought for a smile, but it turned out to be more of a grimace. "It's for my mom, she sent me down here to get it because she didn't feel well enough to get out of bed."

The cashier only nodded as she put it in a thin plastic bag. A _clear_ plastic bag.

"Um, could you double wrap that or something? I don't want one of my friends from school seeing me carrying that and getting the wrong idea." I said in an innocent teenage girl voice. She smirked.

"Yeah, I understand. I do it all the time for people. She said as she pulled a paper bag advertising an allergy medication of some kind as she stuffed the pregnancy test in there and handed me the bag.

"Better?" she asked, but was already flipping through her magazine.

"Yeah, I said as I slid the twenty dollar bill over the counter. I was just glad that there was no one else in the store to see this ordeal.

She handed me the change and tore the receipt off of the top of the cash register. She handed it to me and I shoved everything into the brown paper bag.

I rushed out of the store and closed the glass door, making little bells ring announcing my departure.

I hurried to the nearest public bathroom, which was only a few stores down right next to an old fashioned diner.

I shoved the door open and gagged at the horrible smell, which caused me to be sick. I hated this. I just wanted it to end.

Closed up in the bathroom stall, with only the flickering industrial light for company, I opened the box and read the elaborate instructions. I followed the instructions.

About five to ten minutes later, I was gasping like a fish stranded on the shore. This thing was lying. It was defective. It had to be. But all of the signs… I was so freaking _screwed_.

Most wives would be excited to be a mother. I wasn't 'most wives'. I was sixteen. I was a bird kid. I had crazy people after me and willing to do anything to get their hands on any children of mine.

I worked too hard and too long for it all to end like this. How am I supposed to fight Erasers with a baby strapped to my back? How am I supposed to fly when I look like I weigh half a ton and my belly is bigger than Santa Claus?

Don't get me wrong, I'm not ant-baby or anything. I've dreamed about one day, Fang and I making a Flock of our very own with our own little bird-kids fluttering their downy wings around. But that was supposed to be _later_. When the world was saved from the psychopath whitecoats!

Before I knew it, tears were running down, my face, blurring my vision. I could get killed, the baby could get killed, the flock could get killed with me and even Fang could die with us all. No. I wouldn't let that happen.

I was overwhelmed with a cesspool of emotions and _could not_ stop crying. I felt like one of those stupid teen moms on one of those dumb TV. shows. I knew what the deal was, I was like, imbalanced or something because of my hormones or some crap like that. Great. Anything else I need to know about?

I had to get out of here. Right, back on task Max. Escaping. First, I had one place to go to before I left. And no, I was not going back to the E house to gather my measly possessions. I had to keep this a secret. The Flock, Fang, they'd never understand what I was trying to do. I had to protect them from the whitecoats. By staying, it was putting them all I danger. I couldn't do that.

I had no choice; I had to get out of there right now.

I sprinted out of the bathroom, tossing the used pregnancy test in the garbage bin as I went out. I ran to an alleyway and turned down a couple of corners then took off.

I saw a flash of black as I lifted off the ground, but blamed it on my hormone-imbalanced brain. I clumsily took off into the air and tried to shove my emotions in a box.

My mom would flip if I was to show up on her doorstep with teary red eyes, sobbing.

I few to my mom's house, all the way in Arizona, without even pausing for a break…. Well, I kind of had to stop to hurl a few tomes, I'm not gonna lie.

Hours later, I stumbled to a clumsy landing on my mom's gravel driveway. I kicked up the dust that was hidden in the gravel as I walked up to her doorstep.

In mid-knock, I paused. There was no turning back now. I had to tell my mother! Or did I… yes, I had to tell her. After all that she did for me, I had to tell her.

I knocked on the door and almost stopped breathing when she answered the door. I hoped that she didn't hate me because we all just took off after the surgery.

When she appeared in the door, looking all motherly, I burst into tears. Here I was, her oldest, supposedly her most responsible daughter at sixteen years old who's kept a family safe for my whole life showing up looking like I've been dragged through a dump and living off the street, coming home pregnant. This is going to be a _long_ nine months.

My mother looked startled, and she had a right to, for multiple reasons.

She hugged me, telling me soothing things that I couldn't comprehend as she gently guided me inside.

She led me to a comfy leather couch in the living room and gave me a glass of cold soda. She gently stroked my hair like I used to do to Angel when she was small. Or smaller than she is now.

I managed to calm down enough to stop crying.

"Max, what's wrong? And where's the Flock? Tell me what's happened." my mom said softly.

I sniffled pitifully.

"I…I have to go. For a few years. I can't tell the Flock, because they'd never let me go. Especially Fang." I looked off into the distance, remembering all the times that Fang had talked me out of doing something. I sort of smiled, but kept my gaze looking blankly at the window opposite of me. It had a nice view of the backyard. "Fang would never let me leave, not without him."

"Why would you leave Max? They did so much a year ago when you were sick after Fang left. They would stop the world to keep you with them." My mom said. It was true too, and I knew it.

I looked at the dark hardwood floor, the sunlight was gray from the upcoming storm, but still provided an illumination on it. I swear I saw a shadow of a human against the wood floor, like someone was looking in the window. There was nobody there though; the window was person-less. I only saw the dark blue and black thunderstorm clouds roll in, covering the previously blue skyline. It had to be my crazy-hormonal mind playing stupid tricks on me.

"I can't stay. I'm putting them all in danger. If worst comes to worst they'll capture me. But If I stay with the Flock, I've doomed them too. I want to stay, I want to more than anything, but I can't do something like that to them. Hopefully, when I come back to them in a few years, they'll see why I left and understand. Heck, maybe they'll even forgive me." I said.

"Oh, Max, if I know anything about the Flock, they will forgive you. They love you, and they will love you no matter what. Love is sort of blind that way. Why do you have to leave, though? Why are you in a new danger that the rest of the Flock isn't?" My mom said. Just then, the oven beeped.

"The cookies are done." My mom said and she got up and took the cookies out of the oven.

I looked out the window and the thunderstorm was here. The wind swirled around the landscape, howling like an Eraser. Thunder boomed in the distance.

I had a minute to come up with an answer that wouldn't give my mother a heart attack.

My mom came back with four hot gooey chocolate chip cookies on a plate with a tall glass of cold milk. She was without a doubt the best mom ever.

She handed me the cookies and the glass and I tried not to choke as I scarfed the cookies down. I was starving.

_Two for me, two for the baby._ I thought automatically. Baby. I was going to have a baby, a little baby that would most likely have wings and grow up to walk, talk and fight like me. If I went through my plan, she (or he) wouldn't see her (or his) grandmother, her (or his) aunts and uncles, or even her (or his) own father until they were at least three.

I took a swig of milk, the good, creamy, has-to-be-fattening milk. My mom watched me patiently.

How would I tell her? _Oh, nothing big, really. I'm just about to have your grandchild, the first winged baby in history who will never see you or his/her father for a really long time._

Like the big baby I seemed to be morphing into, I bawled. I managed two words, much louder than intended.

"I'm… pregnant!" I howled in between sobs. It was so unfair! I wanted Fang to be there when I was sick, I wanted fang to be there right next to me every night of the way, I needed him to be there for when the baby was born, when the baby first crawled, walked, spoke. He just _should_ be there! I was going to leave, depriving both the baby and Fang of that. I had to leave though! I didn't have a choice!

"See, I have to go." I croaked.

My mom's surprise was only shown for a moment, because the door burst open, lightning illuminating the figure in the doorway. The thunder boom that followed a millisecond later shook the windows.

I yelped, thinking it was an Eraser that had come to take me and the baby back to the School. The School can't know about me and the baby, can they?

The lightning showed a figure with huge, black wings loosely spread against the figure's back. His eyes were cold, dark, and angry. The wind whipped his longish black hair around.

Fang. And he was so, so mad. He terrified me, and that's how I knew that he'd heard everything that I'd said.

**Fang POV**

I had just flown into town, getting stuff to stock the fridge. I was almost to the low, cement building that just had to be the public bathrooms with when I saw Max emerge from the girls' bathroom, sprinting. I followed her, and she was running too fast to notice me.

I wondered what was wrong with her. Were there Erasers?

I figured that there weren't any Erasers, because she didn't look back once.

She turned down an alley and I followed her down a few twists and turns until around one last corner, I saw that she'd stopped at a dead end.

I then saw her clutch her flat stomach and hurl into a dumpster. I was about to get over there and at least hold her hair up for her. Something was wrong, very, very, very wrong. Bird-kids don't get sick. The last time that Max was sick like that, she fell out of the sky and I thought that she was going to expire.

Before I could, Max shakily got into the air.

I felt worry stab into my gut as she clumsily and slowly rose into the air. There was something definitely wrong.

Instead of catching up with her and confronting her, I made use of my invisibility skill and silence, and flew about fifty feet behind her. I had to see where she was going, and it wasn't back to our house.

She flew in the opposite direction of the house and didn't stop for another two hours. She then dived down and almost crashed into the ground. I silently followed her only to find her barfing into some bushes, again.

Okay, I know Max, and I've never seen her this sick before.

After she wiped a few tears away and wiped her face off, she managed to wobble back into the air. This same type of thing happened two more times before she finally stopped for real. We were at her mom's house. I saw her knock on the door. Dr. M opened the door, and then Max threw me for the loop.

She started sobbing. I stood stock still, even though I was invisible. I hadn't seen her cry like that in a really long time. I felt crushed and had half a mind to go over there and figure out what the heck was going on and comfort her, but Dr. M beat me to it.

Dr. M gently ushered Max inside and I quietly made my way over to follow them. I peered in through the nearest window and into Dr. M's living room.

Max was sobbing openly into a comfy-looking leather couch. Dr. M got her an ice cold can of Coke, and I sort of wanted one then too.

Max's cries reduced to snuffles. I could hear Dr. M really well through the glass window. Let's hear it for mutant human-Avian super-hearing powers!

"Max, what's wrong? And where's the Flock? Tell me what's happened." Dr. M said softly.

Max didn't say anything for a little while. Now, I finally could hear what was going on. More importantly, what she was going to do about it. Whatever it was, it couldn't be good, because she apparently wasn't going to tell me.

"I…I have to go. For a few years. I can't tell the Flock, because they'd never let me go. Especially Fang." Wait, _what?_ My jaw went a little slack, and I abruptly closed it before anyone saw me. Then I remembered that I was invisible. Oh, no. If she thought that she was going to leave, she could just forget it. Dar right, I just got her back, the Flock was safe and in one piece, the School couldn't find us now that my chip was gone, so why would she want to leave? "Fang would never let me leave, not without him." Max finished.

Well, _yeah_. We just got married, in case she forgot. I wasn't just some loser boyfriend that would just let her leave with no explanation for years and take it lightly.

"Why would you leave Max? They did so much a year ago when you were sick after Fang left. They would stop the world to keep you with them." Dr. M pointed out.

_Thank you, Max's mom!_ I thought. I wanted to say something to her along those lines.

Max stared blankly at the floor right below the window I was watching through. She squinted at the floor. What was up with her? She stared right at me, and I felt a jolt. I was invisible! She wasn't supposed to see me. She then shook her head, silently scolding herself for 'seeing things'. I thought that it was really creepy how she somehow, sort of knew that someone was standing there, watching her.

"I can't stay." Max finally replied. I'm putting them all in danger. If worst comes to worst they'll capture me. But If I stay with the Flock, I've doomed them too. I want to stay, I want to more than anything, but I can't do something like that to them. Hopefully, when I come back to them in a few years, they'll see why I left and understand. Heck, maybe they'll even forgive me." Max said.

What, what could be so important to leave the Flock behind? Had could be so important and so 'dangerous' that she would have to leave me behind? She had to be overreacting. Nothing, nothing was that bad.

"Oh, Max, if I know anything about the Flock, they will forgive you. They love you, and they will love you no matter what. Love is sort of blind that way. Why do you have to leave, though? Why are you in a new danger that the rest of the Flock isn't?" Dr. M said. Just then, the oven beeped.

I couldn't agree with Max's mom more on that last statement. DR. M got up to go get whatever was in the oven.

She glanced at the window, and I held my breath, waiting for her to tell me off for spying. She never did. Thunder shook the window and the distant storm was now right above me.

Max's mom came back with her famous chocolate chip cookies, the best ones I ever had, and gave them to Max with a tall glass of milk. Goo, Max needed to eat _something_ after being sick so much on the way over.

I just had a horrible gut feeling that something terrible was wrong with her.

Max sopped in mid-chew, and I thought that she was about to be sick on Dr. M's nice new-looking coffee table when she burst into tears, again.

I was so out of the loop and confused, that it wasn't even freaking funny. What the heck was going on around here?

I sure as heck got a freaking answer.

"I'm… pregnant!" Max howled in between sobs.

Then all the pieces of the Max's mysterious behavior came together like puzzle pieces finally forming a big picture, and I was slapped in the face by that big picture.

I almost fell over, jumped through the glass, and grinned like a fool; all at the same time.

The urge to be happy abandoned me as Max continued to cry harder into her hands. She was scared. She was afraid that she would die, the baby would die, the Flock would die, that I would die. Darn right I would. I'd die for her and any children of mine without a second thought.

She had to understand, sure, there were risks, because we were in this together, and I'd give my last breath defending her.

"See, I have to go." Max said pitifully. No. She wasn't. Now, I was mad, furious even. If she really thought that she and the baby would be safer on their own, she was wrong; way wrong. I was not going to let her do that. That would be suicide! Didn't she trust me enough to know that I'd protect them, both of them, from anything?

I stormed over to the door and forced it open. Lightning crackled behind me, and I made sure that I was no longer invisible.

Max looked scared. I walked over to her, but her being Max, she held her ground. Her eyes never left mine.

Trying to read body language is for amateurs; looking into someone's eyes were all that you needed to see what they were really feeling.

Max was desperately trying not to cry, but her shove-it-in-a-box tactic wasn't working. She was also afraid. She was afraid that I'd be mad at her for a multitude of reasons. What hurt me the most is when I saw one other thing in her eyes. She was afraid that I wouldn't love her and the baby anymore. She was afraid that I'd leave her alone.

I thought that she knew me better than that. I would never…

I was mad because she didn't trust me. I thought that she would trust me more than that, after we survived the School, the chases, the hectic constant danger. I guess I was wrong.

"Max." I said. She flinched, finally averting her gaze. Dr. M stood motionless in the background. Then, Dr. M hurriedly walked out of the room. She knew that this was a discussion between me and Max… _alone_.

"Max," I said in a gentler tone. I stood right in front of her and she was curled up in a small ball. "Why?"

"I'm sorry." She said quietly. Then, she burst into tears… again. This was very unusual. I really wasn't used to her being so… sensitive. I guess it was part of her being pregnant. Her. Pregnant. Me. A Father.

It felt like an Eraser had kicked me in the gut, only worse. I wasn't ready to be a dad! I was sixteen for crying out loud!

I didn't let Max see it though. She needed me to be there for her now more than ever. I sat down next to her and she huddled closer to me. I pulled her closer and her body shivered. Her bird-human heart beat faster than normal. She was really terrified.

There wasn't really much else to say. I'd heard everything and we were here together and that wouldn't change. I wouldn't' leave her or our baby if my life depended on it. Knowing my life, that was a valid statement.

I held her close and muttered soft soothing things in her ear to calm her down.

"Shh… Max. I'm here. Everything's going to be fine; I won't leave you, ever. You won't have to go either. As long as I am around I won't leave you or the baby, I swear." I said softly.

Max hugged on to me like her life depended on it.

"I'm scared." She whispered. I rarely, rarely _rarely_ heard her say those words. Max never admitted to being scared.

"We're gonna be fine, you'll see. Trust me, we've made it this far, and we're not gonna give up now." I said. I tried to sound confident, but I knew good and well if Max looked into my eyes right then, she would see that I was just as scared as she was.

I was going to be a dad.

**Well, that took longer than I'd hoped. I hope you enjoyed it. Hey, just because it's a bonus doesn't mean that you're not supposed to review! Review!**


End file.
